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Physics 430: Lecture 19 Kepler Orbits: Dale E. Gary
Physics 430: Lecture 19 Kepler Orbits: Dale E. Gary
Kepler Orbits
Dale E. Gary
NJIT Physics Department
8.6 The Kepler Orbits
Last time we derived a general equation for the path of a body in the 2-body
central force problem:
u( ) u ( ) F (r ).
l u ( )
2 2
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Bounded Orbits, cont’d
The shape of the orbit, then, looks like the figure at right. planet
We now want to prove that this shape is an ellipse, and c
star
to do that you will show in HW Prob. 8.16 that
c a d O
r ( )
can be written in the form: 1 cos b
x d
2
y2
2 1.
where a 2
b
c c
a ; b ; d a .
1 2
1 2
a
Notice that as 0, d goes to zero, a and b become equal, and the ellipse
becomes a circle. As 1 , d a , a and b/a 0, and the ellipse
grows long and skinny (i.e. very eccentric).
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Example 8.4: Halley’s Comet
Statement of the problem:
Halley’s comet follows a very eccentric orbit, with = 0.967. Given that the closest
approach to the Sun (perihelion) is 0.59 AU (astronomical units), what is its
greatest distance from the Sun?
Solution:
Notice that rmax/rmin = (1 + )/(1 – ). Therefore
1 1.967
rmax rmin rmin 60 rmin 35 AU.
1 0.033
Orbital Period (Kepler’s third law)
Recall that Kepler’s second law (Chapter 3) states that the line between the
Sun and a planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times, and is related to
angular momentum l by
dA l
.
dt 2
Since the total area of an ellipse is A = ab, the period is
A 2 ab
.
dA / dt l
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Orbital Period-2
Squaring this and using the definitions of b and c given earlier:
a3 c 2 2 a
3
4
2 2
4 .
l 2
Recall that, for the Sun, = Gm1m2 GMsun, which then gives Kepler’s third
law: 4 2 3
2
a.
GM sun
What is interesting is that this does not depend on the mass of the satellite,
so the law is obeyed for all bodies (planets, comets, asteroids) so long as
they do not get too massive relative to the Sun.
Example 8.5: Period of Low-Orbit Earth Satellite
Use Kepler’s third law to estimate the period of a satellite in a circular orbit
close to Earth (a few 10’s of miles up).
4 2 REarth 6.38 106 m
2
REarth 2
3
2 2
5070 s 85 min.
GM Earth g 9.8 m/s
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Relation between Energy and
There is an important relation between the eccentricity and the energy of the
orbit. To find this, think about the effective potential energy curve that we
saw last time. At the closest approach (inner turning point), rmin, the total
energy E = Ueff(rmin) (of course, we could alternatively use rmax):
l2
E U eff (rmin )
rmin 2 rmin
2
1 l2
2 .
2rmin rmin
2
1 .
(parabola)
E energy equation
2l
eccentricity energy orbit
= 0 < 1
=0 E<0 circle (circle) (ellipse)
0<<1 E<0 ellipse
l2
c scale factor for orbit
Gm1 m2
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8.8 Changes of Orbit
Let’s first give the general approach to finding changes in the elliptical orbit
of, say, a spacecraft orbiting Earth. The most general way of writing the path
equation is c1
r ( )
1 1 cos 1
where is some inclination angle of the elliptical orbit, and the constants c,
and are written with subscript 1 to indicate their initial values.
To change its orbit, a spacecraft can fire its engine in some particular
direction for a brief time, thus causing an instantaneous change in velocity.
From the change in velocity, we can calculate its new total energy and
angular momentum, and thus calculate a new c2 and 2. The new orbit and
the old orbit have to agree for some particular ro and o, where the spacecraft
was when its velocity changed, so we can calculate the remaining quantity 2
by c1 c2
.
1 1 cos o 1 1 2 cos o 2
Hopefully you can see that this is straightforward, although tedious.
We can do a simple but interesting problem—a tangential thrust at perigee.
Say the velocity changes from v1 to v2 = v1.
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Tangential Thrust at Perigee
At perigee, cos( – ) = 1, so the “continuity” between orbits gives
c1 c
2 .
1 1 1 2
Because l is proportional to velocity, and the constant c is proportional to l,
we have c2 2 c1 . Therefore
2 21 2 1 .
If > 1 (increase in velocity), the new P P
orbit has a higher eccentricity, and a
higher angular momentum and higher
energy.
Likewise, if < 1 (decrease in velocity), the new orbit is more circular, has a
smaller angular momentum, and lower energy.
But what happens when the initial orbit is already circular (1 = 0), and we
decrease the velocity?
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Example 8.6: Changing between
Circular Orbits
If we want to go from, say, Earth to Mars, we have to boost out of an
essentially circular Earth orbit onto an ellipse that takes us to Mars, and then
go into another circular orbit to match that of Mars. The situation is shown
in the figure at right. 2
This is called a Hohman transfer ellipse, and is the transfer
orbit that takes the least energy. Let’s calculate the velocity P’ P
changes needed to do this transfer. 1
This is easily solved for to give 4 / 3 1.15. Need 15% of Earth orbital speed
November 5, 2009