Kepler's Second Law ‒ Simulation

In the early 17th century, the German astronomer Johannes Kepler formulated three laws that describe the motion of planets around the Sun. Kepler's first law states that "planets orbit the Sun in ellipses, with the Sun located at one of the two focal points." Kepler's second law explains the speed at which planets move along their elliptical orbits. It states that "the areas swept by the vector connecting the planet and the Sun are equal in size during equal time intervals." This law implies that a planet does not move at a constant speed throughout its orbit. It moves faster when it is closer to the Sun (at perihelion) and slower when it is farther from the Sun (at aphelion). The animation illustrating this law shows that the areas swept by the planet's vector, indicated S1 to S12, represent equal areas over equal time periods (each corresponding to a month). Kepler's third law establishes a relationship between the orbital period and the distance from the Sun. It states that "the square of a planet’s orbital period is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit" (i.e., the average distance between the planet and the Sun).