Web Sites:
• https://www.phy.ntnu.edu.tw/java/Kepler/Kepler.html and/or
• https://astro.unl.edu/naap/pos/pos.html and/or
• https://highered.mheducation.com/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=swf::800::600::/sites/dl/free/0072482621/78778/Kepler_Nav.swf and/or
• https://highered.mheducation.com/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=swf::800::600::/sites/dl/free/0072482621/78778/KeplerThird_Nav.swf
(Copy and paste the links into URL to access the webpage)
Introduction:
During the last quarter of the 16th century, the Danish nobleman, Tycho Brahe, provided careful observation of the planets over an extended period of time (20 years). He hoped to use his data to verify his own model of the solar system, in which the sun orbited the earth, and all other planets orbited the sun. At Brahe’s death in 1601, his assistant Johannes Kepler inherited the data that Brahe had accumulated. Kepler spent some 20 years analyzing this data, looking for mathematical regularities. He came to the conclusion that the ideal of circular orbits should be discarded and should be replaced with elliptical orbits. Kepler summarized his laborious study of planetary motion with the following three laws:
1. The planets move in elliptical orbits with the sun at one focus.
2. A line from the sun to any planets sweeps out equal areas in equal time.
3. The square of a planet’s period is proportional to the cube of the planet’s mean distance from the sun.
Instructions:
1. Load up the Java applets from the websites shown above. You may use only one of the websites, or all of them…whichever works best for you! In fact, if you find a better website than the ones given that you would like to use, provide Prof. Shah with the link ahead of time to get it approved for use!
2. Your task is to “prove” Kepler’s 3 laws using data from these websites. Those are all of the instructions…very vague, but you should be able to do it!
3. Generating graphs would be a wonderful way of proving these laws! Snapshots would be another wonderful way to prove these laws
4. In your lab report, discuss your data regarding each of Kepler’s Laws.
5. Finally, write the report with your favorite word processor or text editor and submit it to the instructor.
Use the “Sample Laboratory Report” as a guide in preparing your lab report.