1YellipseApplications

Applications of an Ellipse

In the 1609, Johannes Kepler published a book explaining that the orbits along which the planets travel around the Sun are ellipses with the Sun at one focus. He had discovered this by analysing careful astronomical observations made by Tycho Brahe. Kepler also pointed out that a line from the Sun to the Earth swept out the same area of space in any given amount of time. This was because the Earth moves faster when it is closer to the Sun and slower when it is further away.

Isaac Newton published his law of universal gravitation in 1687 which gave an explanation for the elliptical orbits. Newton's law is accurate enough for virtually all practical purposes, though Albert Einstein 's theory of general relativity is more accurate.

Earth's orbit around the sun is approximately an ellipse but it is very close to a circle. The difference between the minor radius and the major radius is less than 1%.

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