Keplers laws

Klaus Schmitt Department of Mathematics University of Utah 155 South 1400 East Salt lake City, UT 84112, USA October 24, 2003
Abstract This note presents a derivation of Keplers three laws using Newtons inverse square law (which can be derived from Keplers rst two laws). The derivation follows closely that given in Salas/Hille/Etgen: One and Several Variables Calculus, Wiley, New York, 2003, which, in turn is based on Pollard: Celestial Mechanics, Math. Assoc. of America, 1976. Several of the historical facts have been obtained from the following two sources: http://www.kepler-museum.de/ http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/ history/BiogIndex.html

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1.1

Keplers three laws

Some history
1473 Copernicus is born.

1514 Commentariolus (Questioning the geocentric universe). 1543 De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium. 1596 Mysterium Cosmographicum 1571 Kepler is born on 12/27 in Weil der Stadt (near Stuttgart)

1.2

Mysterium Cosmographicum

Kepler struggles with the question: Why has God chosen to create six and only six planets? His answer: There are precisely ve Platonic regular solids: Cube, Tetrahedron, Dodecahedron, Oktahedron, Icosahedron and the six planets follow circular orbits which lie on spheres which are, respectively, circum-spheres and in-spheres to these solids with the following order (as inscribed solids):

Planet Saturn Jupiter Mars Earth Venus Mercury

Solid Cube Tetrahedron Dodekahedron Ikosahedron Oktahedron

6 5 4 3 2 1

To explain the eccentricity of the orbits of the planets, Kepler supposes that the in-spheres and circum-spheres have a certain thickness.

1.3

More dates

1600 Kepler meets Tycho Brahe 1601 Tycho Brahe dies

 1601 - 1627 Imperial mathematician for the Habsburg emperors 1609 Astronomia Nova (rst and second law) 1619 Harmonice Mundi (third law)

1628 - 1630 Wallensteins mathematician and astronomer 1630 Kepler dies in Regensburg on 11/15

1.4

The three laws

A planet will move in a plane with an elliptical orbit having the sun as one of its foci. The radius vector from the planet to the sun will sweep out equal areas in equal times in the orbital plane as the planet orbits the sun. U1 U2
2

a1 a2

The square of the orbital periods of any two planets are related to each other as the cubes of their mean distance from the sun.

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2.1

Derivation of the laws

The Principia

See: I. Newton The Principia Mathematical principles of natural Philosophy, A new translation by B. Cohen/A. Whitman, Univ. California Press, Berkely, 1999; Book 1, Proposition 11. Using Keplers laws Newton formulates his

2.2

Law of gravitation
F= GM m r r3

2.3

Angular momentum is preserved

L = r mv, L = r mv + r ma = 0.

Hence L = L0 ; r v =

1 L . m 0

From this follows: Kepler: The motion of a planet takes place in a xed plane.

2.4

Polar coordinates in the plane

r = r(cos i + sin j).

A(t) area swept out by the radius vector during t units of time. A = 1 2 r . 2

v = r (cos i + sin j) + r ( sin i + cos j) The angular momentum becomes L0 = mr 2 k; L0 1 2 r = =A. 2 2m

Thus Kepler: The time derivative of A is constant and hence the radius vector sweeps out equal areas in equal time.

2.5

Dierentiating the unit radius vector

r
r r = v r2 r r = r1 r 2 v rr r 3 = r1 ((r r)v (r v)r) 3 = (r v) r r3 1 = m (L a) 1 = m (a L) 1 = m (v L) .

It follows that

L r v = e = const. r m Hence L rr r v = r e = re cos . r m The above becomes L2 r 02 = er cos . m

2.6

The orbits
r L2 0 = er cos . m2 r= L2 0 . m2

If e = 0

THE ORBIT IS A CIRCLE. Let L2 0 = ed m2 r(1 + e cos ) = ed. x2 + y 2 = e2 (d x)2

Returning to Euclidean coordinates x2 (1 e2 ) + 2e2 dx + y 2 = e2 d2 .

If e = 1 THE ORBIT IS A PARABOLA. If e < 1 Letting

If e > 1 THE ORBIT IS A HYPERBOLA. e2 d x+ 1 e2 a2 =

2

y2 e2 d2 = . 1 e2 (1 e2 )2

e2 d2 e2 d e2 d2 , b2 = , c= (1 e2 )2 1 e2 1 e2 a2 b2 = c2

and

c = e. a THE ORBIT IS AN ELLIPSE WITH ECCENTRICITY e.

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The orbital period

A =
L0 2m T

L0 . 2m

= ab = a 2 c2 a 2 1 e2 . = a

So

2ma2 1 e2 . T = L0 ed = L2 0 2 GM m = a(1 e2 )

We know

hence

4 2 a4 (1 e2 ) 4 2 3 = a . edGM GM Kepler: The square of the orbital period is a constant multiple of the semimajor axis cubed. The constant is the same for all planets. T2 =