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How Kepler discovered the elliptical orbit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2016

Eric J. Aiton
Eric J. Aiton*
Affiliation:
Didsbury College of Education, Wilmslow Road, Manchester M20 8RR
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Extract

In his Newtonian studies Alexandre Koyré remarked that, from the area law of planetary motion, Kepler erroneously deduced that the planets move in their orbits with speeds inversely proportional to the distances from the sun. It was this assertion, which I suspected to be false, that led me to make a detailed study of the discovery of the area law. Quite independently and unknown to me, Curtis Wilson had been making a similar study of the discovery of the elliptical orbit. Since the arguments leading to the two Keplerian laws are inter-dependent, our researches may be described as variations on the same theme. What I wish to do this evening is to explain in simple terms our reconstruction of Kepler’s path to the elliptical orbit and the area law.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 59 , Issue 410 , December 1975 , pp. 250 - 260
Copyright
Copyright © Mathematical Association 1975

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References

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