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Astronomy – Kepler’s Laws – Worksheet 2
Kowinsky
NAME: ____________________
Pd: ____
Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion:
1.) State Kepler’s 1st Law:
2.) State Kepler’s 2nd Law:
3.) State Kepler’s 3rd Law:
4.) The diagram to the right is the orbit of a comet:
A) Label the two focal points
B) Label the Perihelion
C) Label the Aphelion
5.) Mercury’s period of revolution is 88 days, or .241 years.
Calculate the average distance Mercury is from the Sun.
6. )A large object called Sedna has been found past the orbit of Pluto.
Parallax measurements from the Hubble Space telescope indicate Sedna is at a distance
of 990 A.U. Calculations indicate its average distance from the Sun is 532 A.U., and its
Perihelion is at 76 A.U. Based on this information, is this orbit highly eccentric, or not
very eccentric?
7.) Based on the information given in question #6. What is the orbital period for Sedna?
8.) Halley's comet has a period of 76 years, and has an orbital eccentricity of 0.97 .
What is its average distance from the sun?
9.) An extrasolar planet (A planet in a different solar system) around the star HD 92788,
with a similar mass to that of our sun, has been found to have an orbital period of .956
years. What is the average distance from the planet to the star? k = 1
Astronomy – Kepler’s Laws – Worksheet 2
Kowinsky
NAME: ____________________
Pd: ____
10.) An extrasolar planet around the star HD 190228, which is slightly more massive than
our sun, has been found to have an orbital period of 3.08 years. What is the average
distance from the planet to the star? Use k = .8 for the HD 190228 solar system.
11.) Below is a table of the current orbital velocities of the 8 planets and Pluto. Based on
the orbital velocities, correctly name each of the planets.
Speed in Km/s
6.50
30.13
5.43
35.23
46.28
5.92
10.15
22.71
12.45
Planet Name:
12.) The Hubble space telescope is in an orbit 590 km above the earth. The International
Space Station is at an orbit of 407 km above the earth.
A) Which object has a faster orbital velocity?
B) Which object has a longer period?