Kepler's Laws - Astrology lab 4

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School

Texarkana College *

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1308

Subject

Astronomy

Date

Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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5

Uploaded by DeaconHeat7339

Kepler’s Laws OBJECTIVES To explore and understand each of Kepler’s three laws To simulate a variety of orbits and confirm each follows Kepler’s Laws EXPLORE THE SIMULATION ● (Never learned about Kepler’s Laws before? You should review this lesson first.) ● Launch the Gravity Simulator . ● Watch this brief instructor video , which shows the basic functions of the simulation. ● Experiment with the simulation yourself. Try making your own solar system. KEPLER’S FIRST LAW 1. Remove any existing planets by pressing the “Clear Spacetime” button. 2. Make sure that the “Simulation Mode” is set to Kepler’s 1st Law. In this mode, you can fling a planet in any direction you like at any speed you like. 3. Kepler’s 1st Law states that all planets orbit in an ellipse with the sun at one focus. Use the simulation to create a planet that orbits the sun in an ellipse. Take a screenshot of the planet as it orbits the sun and include it in the space below. ( How do I take a screenshot? ) 4. What is the eccentricity of the orbit you created? Use the table below to help you estimate the eccentricity of your own orbit.
e = 0.0 e = 0.2 e = 0.5 e = 0.7 The eccentricity of my orbit is approximately _____.5________ 5. A circular orbit is simply an elliptical orbit with an eccentricity of 0. Use the simulation to create a planet that orbits the sun in a perfect circle. (You can watch this brief teacher video for some hints ). Once you’ve created a nice circular orbit, take a screenshot of the orbit and include it below. [Insert screenshot here] KEPLER’S SECOND LAW 6. Remove any existing planets by pressing the “Clear Spacetime” button. 7. Change the “Simulation Mode” to Kepler’s 2nd Law. In this mode, you can set the eccentricity to any value in the menu and then click to launch a planet into orbit. 8. Set the eccentricity to 0.5.
9. Launch a planet into orbit with an eccentricity of 0.5 and watch as it orbits. 10. Does the planet orbit at a constant speed? No [Insert answer here] 11. Where does the planet move the fastest? When it is closer [Insert answer here] 12. Where does the planet move the slowest? The farther away it is [Insert answer here] 13. Remove your planet by pressing the “Clear Spacetime” button. 14. Now set the eccentricity to 0 so that we can launch planets in circular orbits. 15. Launch a planet into orbit near the sun (about two blocks away). Watch the planet orbit. 16. Does the planet orbit at a constant speed? yes [Insert answer here] 17. Launch four more planets into circular orbits, each one further from the sun than the last. Watch them orbit. Do all the planets move at the same speed? no [Insert answer here] 18. Which planet moves the fastest? Closest to the sun [Insert answer here] 19. Which planet moves the slowest? Farthest from the sun [Insert answer here] 20. In general, comets have very elliptical orbits. Halley’s Comet, which is famous for passing by the earth every 76 years, has an eccentricity of 0.97 - it’s orbit is shown below along with the sun and the orbit of the earth for comparison. A comet can only be seen when it is near both the sun and the earth - the sun melts part of the icy comet, causing the long tail that we can observe in the night sky. When the comet is far from the sun and earth, it is only visible to the most powerful telescopes.
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