Lab #6: Testing Kepler's First Law (continued) Page 2 of 6 The important features of an ellipse are shown in the diagram below. The shape of an ellipse is given by the ratio e: a, which is called the eccentricity (e). Note that the eccentricity of a circle is zero. Tear off the paper millimeter ruler on page five of this lab and use it to find e and a. Compute e. CH focus semi-major axis (a) mm semi-minor am sixe a mm am Place the bottom of this page on a cork board and insert a pin at each of the two foci. Place a loop of string around the two pins and draw the ellipse in the manner shown on page one. Measure e and a with the millimeter ruler and compute e. e=c/a- e = c/a= mm mm

Applications and Investigations in Earth Science (9th Edition)
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ISBN:9780134746241
Author:Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K. Lutgens, Dennis G. Tasa
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Lab #6: Testing Kepler's First Law (continued)
Page 2 of 6
The important features of an ellipse are shown in the diagram below. The shape of an ellipse
is given by the ratio e: a, which is called the eccentricity (e). Note that the eccentricity of a
circle is zero. Tear off the paper millimeter ruler on page five of this lab and use it to find e
and a. Compute e.
C=
focus
semi-major axis (a)
mm
semi-minor
axis
am
a
mm
a =
Place the bottom of this page on a cork board and insert a pin at each of the two foci. Place a
loop of string around the two pins and draw the ellipse in the manner shown on page one.
Measure e and a with the millimeter ruler and compute e.
e = c/a=
e = c/a=
mm
mm
Transcribed Image Text:Lab #6: Testing Kepler's First Law (continued) Page 2 of 6 The important features of an ellipse are shown in the diagram below. The shape of an ellipse is given by the ratio e: a, which is called the eccentricity (e). Note that the eccentricity of a circle is zero. Tear off the paper millimeter ruler on page five of this lab and use it to find e and a. Compute e. C= focus semi-major axis (a) mm semi-minor axis am a mm a = Place the bottom of this page on a cork board and insert a pin at each of the two foci. Place a loop of string around the two pins and draw the ellipse in the manner shown on page one. Measure e and a with the millimeter ruler and compute e. e = c/a= e = c/a= mm mm
Lab #6: Testing Kepler's First Law (continued)
Part 2: The Orbit of Mercury
Because its orbit lies entirely within the Earth's orbit, Mercury is never seen far from the
Sun. In the illustration below, the Sun is setting in the western sky as seen from New York
and Mercury is at its Greatest Eastern Elongation, which occurs when the angle
Sun-observer-Mercury reaches its greatest extent. When Mercury is at its Greatest Western
Elongation it can be seen in the morning sky. Tycho Brahe and other astronomers measured
the greatest elongations of Mercury in order to better define the planet's orbit. A list of some
of these observations are printed on the next page. The first thing to note is that the angles
are not the same. Why this is so will become clear once you have plotted Mercury's orbit.
Mercury
Orbit of Mercury
Greatest
Elongation
Eastern
Sun
Page 3 of 6
f
On the next page a circle has been drawn with the months of the year along its outer edge. It
is an approximate representation of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. If we know the date of
an observation of a greatest elongation as well as the elongation in degrees, the actual orbit of
Mercury can be plotted.
• Tear off the protractor at the bottom of the page. Fold over the edges as indicated.
• Use the protractor to plot the greatest elongations in the table. To do this, place the point
representing the Earth on the protractor on the date of an elongation. (The first date has
been plotted.) Adjust the protractor so that the zero degree line points toward the Sun.
Make a mark at the elongation listed in the table and draw a line from the Earth through the
mark almost to the other side of the Earth's orbit. Do this for all the dates in the table.
Transcribed Image Text:Lab #6: Testing Kepler's First Law (continued) Part 2: The Orbit of Mercury Because its orbit lies entirely within the Earth's orbit, Mercury is never seen far from the Sun. In the illustration below, the Sun is setting in the western sky as seen from New York and Mercury is at its Greatest Eastern Elongation, which occurs when the angle Sun-observer-Mercury reaches its greatest extent. When Mercury is at its Greatest Western Elongation it can be seen in the morning sky. Tycho Brahe and other astronomers measured the greatest elongations of Mercury in order to better define the planet's orbit. A list of some of these observations are printed on the next page. The first thing to note is that the angles are not the same. Why this is so will become clear once you have plotted Mercury's orbit. Mercury Orbit of Mercury Greatest Elongation Eastern Sun Page 3 of 6 f On the next page a circle has been drawn with the months of the year along its outer edge. It is an approximate representation of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. If we know the date of an observation of a greatest elongation as well as the elongation in degrees, the actual orbit of Mercury can be plotted. • Tear off the protractor at the bottom of the page. Fold over the edges as indicated. • Use the protractor to plot the greatest elongations in the table. To do this, place the point representing the Earth on the protractor on the date of an elongation. (The first date has been plotted.) Adjust the protractor so that the zero degree line points toward the Sun. Make a mark at the elongation listed in the table and draw a line from the Earth through the mark almost to the other side of the Earth's orbit. Do this for all the dates in the table.
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