Editing Kepler's 1st law
The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then publish the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
| Latest revision | Your text | ||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
[[File:Kepler1stlaw.png|center|class=shadow|300px]] | [[File:Kepler1stlaw.png|center|class=shadow|300px]] | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
The orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci. | |||
Mathematically, an ellipse can be represented by the formula: | |||
$${e r={\frac {p}{1+\varepsilon \,\cos \theta }},}{\displaystyle r={\frac {p}{1+\varepsilon \,\cos \theta }},}$$ | |||
where $$p$$ is the semi-latus rectum, ε is the eccentricity of the ellipse, r is the distance from the Sun to the planet, and θ is the angle to the planet's current position from its closest approach, as seen from the Sun. So (r, θ) are polar coordinates. | |||
For an ellipse 0 < ε < 1 ; in the limiting case ε = 0, the orbit is a circle with the Sun at the centre (i.e. where there is zero eccentricity). | |||