What is Kepler’s First Law of Planetary Motion?
Kepler’s First Law of Planetary Motion, also known as the Law of Ellipses, is one of the fundamental laws of celestial mechanics formulated by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler in the early 17th century. This law describes the shape of the orbits that planets trace around the Sun and has significant implications for our understanding of the solar system and the mechanics of planetary motion.
According to Kepler’s First Law, planets move in elliptical orbits around the Sun, with the Sun located at one of the two foci of the ellipse. This means that the distance between a planet and the Sun varies throughout its orbit, being closest at one point (perihelion) and farthest at another (aphelion). The discovery of this law revolutionized the way astronomers viewed the solar system and provided a more accurate description of planetary motion than the previously accepted geocentric model.
