Kepler's Third Law in Elliptical Orbits Video Lessons

Concept

Problem: Why is Newton's version of Kepler's third law so useful to astronomers?A. It is the only way to determine the masses of many distant objects?B. It tells us how rapidly a planet spins on its axis.C. It explains why objects spin faster when they shrink in size.D. It tells us that more-distant planets orbit the Sun more rapidly.

FREE Expert Solution

We are required to state the application of Newton's version of Kepler's third law.

Kepler's third law:

$\overline{){{\mathbf{P}}}^{{\mathbf{2}}}{\mathbf{=}}{{\mathbf{A}}}^{{\mathbf{3}}}}$ where P is the orbital period and A is the length of the semi-major axis.

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Problem Details

Why is Newton's version of Kepler's third law so useful to astronomers?

A. It is the only way to determine the masses of many distant objects?

B. It tells us how rapidly a planet spins on its axis.

C. It explains why objects spin faster when they shrink in size.

D. It tells us that more-distant planets orbit the Sun more rapidly.