Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion
Interactive Physics Simulation
Explore celestial mechanics with this Kepler's laws animation that visually demonstrates all three fundamental principles governing planetary orbits around the Sun through real-time simulation.
First Law (Law of Ellipses)
The orbit of a planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci. Adjust the eccentricity slider to see how the shape changes from circular to highly elliptical.
Second Law (Law of Equal Areas)
A line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time. Observe the shaded areas in the animation to see this principle in action.
Third Law (Harmonic Law)
The square of the orbital period of a planet is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit. While not directly visualized here, this law governs the relationship between orbital size and period.
