Whose contributions to astronomy explained how planets were held in their orbits?
1 answer
The contributions of Johannes Kepler explained how planets are held in their orbits. Kepler developed his three laws of planetary motion, known as Kepler's laws, as a result of meticulously observing the planets' positions and motion over several years. These laws, published in the early 17th century, provided a mathematical description of the motion of planets and revolutionized our understanding of our solar system. They explained that planets move in elliptical orbits around the Sun, rather than in perfect circles as previously believed, and that the speed of a planet in its orbit is not constant but varies according to its distance from the Sun. Kepler's laws laid the foundation for Isaac Newton's laws of motion and universal gravitation, further deepening our understanding of how planets are held in their orbits.