Keplertörvények

Keplertörvények refer to the three fundamental laws of planetary motion formulated by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler in the early 17th century. These laws describe the shape of planetary orbits and their speeds.

The first law, also known as the law of ellipses, states that the orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci. Before Kepler, it was widely believed that planetary orbits were perfect circles.

The second law, the law of equal areas, states that a line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time. This implies that a planet moves faster when it is closer to the Sun and slower when it is farther away.

The third law, the harmonic law, relates the orbital period of a planet to the semi-major axis of its orbit. Specifically, it states that the square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit. This law allows for the calculation of distances of planets from the Sun if their orbital periods are known.

Kepler's laws were derived from meticulous observations made by Tycho Brahe. They marked a significant departure from the geocentric model and laid the groundwork for Isaac Newton's law of universal gravitation, which provided a physical explanation for Kepler's empirical findings. Keplertörvények are a cornerstone of classical mechanics and astronomy.