Physics › Section D · Circular motion and gravitation › Topic D.5
Satellites and Kepler's laws
Every satellite, moon and planet is held on its path by gravity acting as a centripetal force. Put that together with Newton's law of gravitation and you can predict orbital speeds and periods, explain Kepler's three laws, and even find the mass of a distant planet.
In this topic
- Falling round the Earth
- Orbital speed
- Worked example: the International Space Station
- Kepler's first law: ellipses
- Kepler's second law: equal areas
- Kepler's third law: periods and distances
- Worked example: the Kepler constant for the Sun
- Worked example: the year on Mars
- Geostationary orbits
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
This topic is part of Wuanberri Pro. Checking your access…