Paths of the Planets

Rachel W. Hall

Nigel Higson

December 9, 1998

Abstract
Assuming only Newtons Laws of Motion, we use
plane geometry to argue that the paths of the planets are elliptical. The proof here follows a lecture
of Richard Feynman, as related in Feynmans Lost
Lecture, by Goodstein and Goodstein [1]. This is intended as a series of two or three lectures for honors
calculus; extensive exercises are provided which students can work through on their own.

system in which the planets travel in circles. However, as more sophisticated instruments
(these included giant measuring toolsthe telescope was not invented until 1610!) and data became available in the later 16th century, Copernicus was due for a challenge. Keplers new laws
reconciled observation and theory.

Although Keplers observations were correct,

he was unable to explain why the planets behaved as they did. This task was completed by
the scientific giant Isaac Newton as part of his
Kepler, Newton, and Feynman
Principia, published in 1687, in which he proJohanes Keplers Astronomia Nova, published in posed his groundbreaking theory of motion. As
1609, contained two startling observations about a crowning touch, Newton used his laws of mothe motion of the planets around the sun, which tion to deduce that the paths of the planets are
later became known as Keplers first and second elliptical. Moreover, he did this using only plane
laws. Kepler stated that
geometry, for although Newton had invented the
powerful tools of calculus, he needed to explain
1. the orbits of the planets are ellipses with the
his discoveries in a way that most scientists of his
sun at one focus, and
day would understand.
2. the time it takes a planet to travel from one
When preparing a lecture for a freshman
position in its orbit to another is proporphysics class in 1964, the physicist Richard Feyntional to the area swept out by a planet in
man decided to prove the law of ellipses as Newthat time.
ton hadwithout refering to calculus. The proof
here follows Feynmans lecture, as related in
Ten years later he published a third law:
Feynmans Lost Lecture, by Goodstein and Good3. the time it takes a planet to complete an en- stein [1]. Following a nineteenth-century argutire orbit is proportional to the three-halves ment by James Clerk Maxwell, Feynman deviates
power of the longer axis of the ellipse.
somewhat from Newtons proof, as Newton used
some arcane properties of conic sections which
Keplers discoveries in celestial mechanics came
are not known today, but still manages a coma mere 66 years after the publication of Copernipletely geometrical proof.
cus On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres,
which corrected the Aristotelean earth-centered
In following Feynmans proof, some knowledge
universe. Copernicus proposed a sun-centered of conic sections, vector addition, Newtons laws
Supported by a grant from the Fund for Excellence in
Learning and Teaching

of motion and gravitation, and Keplers laws will

be helpful.

R. W. Hall & N. Higson Paths of the Planets

Law of Ellipses

will be an ellipse.

Three Definitions of an Ellipse

Conic sections were a serious subject of study
for mathematicians of Newtons dayin fact, their
knowledge of the subject was much more sophisticated than that of mathematicians today! We
will start out with three of the basic definitions
of an ellipse.

Exercise 1

Starting with the equation of the ellipse,

we will find the coordinates of the foci, and verify the
tack-and-string definition and the reflection property.
1. Graph the ellipse

x2
4

y2
9

= 1.

2. The semimajor axis of an ellipse connects the center

with a point on the ellipse farthest from the center,
while the semiminor axis connects the center with a
point on the ellipse closest to the center. What do
a and b represent in the equation

1. Tack-and-String Definition Pick any two

points. These will be called the foci of the
ellipse. The set of all points at which the
sum of the distances to the two foci is some
fixed number is an ellipse. Equivalently, affix
two tacks to a board, tie each end of a string
to a tack, and draw the curve created by a
pencil which stretches the string taut.

this length
+ this length
= constant
focus

y2
b2

= 1?

3. Now lets find the coordinates of the foci.

(a) Argue that, if the tack-and-string definition
is true, the foci of the ellipse must lie on the
semimajor axes.
(b) Suppose a > b and the foci of the ellipse
y2
b2

x2
a2

= 1 are located at (c, 0) and (c, 0). Show

that the length of the string in the tack-andstring definition must be 2a.

(c) Show that c = a2 b2 .

(d) What if b > a? Find the coordinates of the
foci in this case.
4. Now we will verify the tack-and-string definition
that is, well show that if (x, y) is any point at which
x2
a2

focus

x2
a2

+ yb2 = 1, then, assuming a > b, the distance

from (x, y) to the focus ( a2 b2 , 0) plus the distance from (x, y) to the focus ( a2 b2 , 0) is a fixed
number (in fact, it is equal to 2a).

2. Reflection Property Again, pick any two

points as the foci. The curve whose tangent at any point forms equal angles with
the lines to each focus will be an ellipse. Because of this property, a large elliptical wall
forms a whispering galleryanything spoken
at one focus is reflected to the other focus.

(a) Suppose
l1 is the distance from (x, y) to

( a2 b2 , 0) and l2 is the distance from

(x, y) to ( a2 b2 , 0).
(0, b)
l1

l2

(-a, 0)

(a, 0)
2

angles are equal

(x, y)

(- a - b , 0)

( a - b , 0)

(0, -b)

focus

focus

3. Equation For any fixed real numbers a and

b, the set of points (x, y) in the plane which
satisfy
y2
x2
+ 2 =1
2
a
b

Use the Pythagorean Theorem to show that

xp 2
l12 = (
a b2 + a)2 , and
a
xp 2
l22 = (
a b2 a)2 .
a
(b) Conclude that l1 + l2 =
2a. Hint: l2 is the
positive square root of ( x
a2 b2 a)2 .
a
5. Starting with the tack-and-string definition well
prove the reflection propertythat is, well show that
a line intersecting the ellipse which forms equal angles with the lines to the foci is a tangent to the
ellipse.

R. W. Hall & N. Higson Paths of the Planets

(a) First, we will construct the line described by

the reflection property.
V
l

F
(focus)

J
(focus)

Suppose point P is on an ellipse with foci F

and J. Draw lines P F and P J. Now extend
line P F by a distance equal to the length of
P J, and label point V as shown. Construct
the perpendicular bisector to V J and call this
line l. Argue that the angles labelled and
are equal. Hence, l is the line described by the
reflection property.
(b) A tangent to an ellipse is defined to be a line
which intersects the ellipse in only one point.
We will show that line l is a tangent.
V

The Circle Construction of an Ellipse

We will show that the following construction is
equivalent to the above definitions of an ellipse.
Draw a circle with center O. Fix a point A
inside the circle which is not the center. Pick any
point B on the circle and connect it to points O
and A. Find the intersection of the perpendicular
bisector to the line AB with the line OB. Now
allow B to move around the circle. The set of all
such intersection points will form an ellipse.

center

fix another
point

ellipse?

F
(focus)

J
(focus)

i. Suppose line l intersects the ellipse in another point, say, point Q. Use the diagram above to argue that the lengths of
QV and QJ are equal.
ii. The tack-and-string definition says that
the sum of the lengths of P F plus P J
equals the sum of the lengths of QF plus
QJ. Explain, with reference to the diagram, that that cannot happen (unless,
of course, P and Q coincide). Conclude
that Q is actually outside the ellipse and
l is tangent.

B
movable
point
Why? As the diagram below shows, the circle
construction is equivalent to the tack-and-string
definition. The radius of the circle is equal to the
length of the string. Notice also that the perpendicular bisector satisfies the reflection property
and hence is tangent to the ellipse.

6. Is line l the same tangent defined by calculus? Well

show that it is.
(a) Use calculus to show that the slope of the tangent line to the ellipse at the point (x0 , y0 ) is
0

(b) (Hard) Show that the intersection of the line

these two add

up to the radius
A

ab 2xy0 .

perpendicular
bisector

passing through (x0 , y0 ) with slope ab 2xy0

2

with the ellipse x

+ yb2 = 1 is exactly at
a2
(x0 , y0 )and no other points. The calculations
are somewhat easier if you use the parametric
form of the equation for an ellipse;
x = a cos t, and y = b sin t.
(Why is the parametric form equivalent?)

Exercise 2

We will investigate how the location of

point A affects the figure.
1. First, try moving point A.
(a) With a ruler and compass, draw something
like this:

R. W. Hall & N. Higson Paths of the Planets

moving
point
B

perpendicular
bisector
moving
B point

perpendicular
bisector
A
O

intersection
point

fixed
point

O
point at
infinity

A
fixed
point

B
B
B

(b) Describe how a ray of light emanating from

point A will be reflected in the parabola.
Now let the point B move around the circle
and find the intersection point for each B.
Find enough points to be reasonably confident
of the figure.
(b) Find the analog of the tack-and-string definition in this case. That is, describe the relationship between the lengths of the lines from
the intersection point to points O and A.
(c) What can you say about the reflection property? Show that a ray of light emanating from
the center of the circle will be reflected so that
it appears to come from point A.
(d) What happens if point A is on the circle? At
the center? Construct diagrams in each case.
2. So far, weve used this construction to come up with
four conic sections: the line, circle, hyperbola, and
ellipse. How can we get the parabola?
(a) Picture the circle getting bigger and bigger. A
piece of an extremely large circle will appear
to be a straight line, and lines connected to
the faraway center of the circle will look parallel. We can think of the circle at infinity as a
straight line. Its center is the point at infinity
and the radii of the circle will be parallel lines.

(c) What if A were on the other side of the circle?

Newtons Dynamics1
Now that we have developed some of the properties of conic sections well need later, lets look
at planetary orbit, as Newton described it. Newtons first two laws of motion are
1. (Principle of Inertia) If no forces are acting
on a body, it will either stay at rest or continue travelling in a straight line at constant
speed, and
1 Well need to use vectors in this section.
If you
havent seen vectors before, heres a brief introduction. A
vector is a directed line segment, often used to represent
some physical quantity such as force, with the following
properties:

Two vectors u and v emanating from the same point

may be added by completing the parallelogram they
describe, as shown.

u+v
v

circle at
infinity

The vector u + v is the diagonal emanating from the

same point.
The length of v is denoted kvk.
Multiplication of v by a positive real number k results in a vector kv which has the same direction
as v and length kkvk. If k is negative, kv has the
opposite direction to v and length |k|kvk.

point at
infinity

radii are
parallel

Now suppose that O is the point at infinity, fix

A, and construct the diagram. Heres a start.

3/2 v
-1/2 v

R. W. Hall & N. Higson Paths of the Planets

2. the change in motion of a body is proportional to and in the direction of any force
acting on the body.

these
distances
are equal

d
D
C

Using these two laws, Newton showed why Keplers observation that the planets sweep out
equal areas in equal times is true. Suppose a
planet travels from A to B in a certain unit of
time.

Since C is the midpoint of Bd, the distances

between the parallel lines are equal. The two
shaded triangles have the same base and height,
and hence the same area. Since each triangle represents the area swept out by the planet in one
unit of time, Newtons mechanics have proved
Keplers second law!

B
A

If no force were acting on the planet, it would

continue on to point c after another time unit
has elapsed. However, the gravitational force directed towards the sun pulls the planet towards
point V . The sum of the intertial force directing
the planet towards c plus gravity directing it to
V causes the planet to arrive at point C. We
can continue this process to find points D, E,
etc. Heres a diagram similar to the one Newton
drew.

The Inverse Square Law

Note that we havent used the fact that the gravitational pull of the sun is inversely proportional
to the square of the radius yet. Well use it now,
to compute the changes in the velocity vector.
The diagrams in the last section represent the
orbit as a succession of straight lines, rather than
a smooth curve. If we let the unit of time t go
to zero, the diagram looks something like this.

P, at time t later

e
E

P, at a certain
time

these areas
are equal

Sun

Sun

B
V

Sun

P , the position of the planet, is represented in

polar coordinates by the pair (r, ), which are
Sun
both functions of time, t. represents the angle
traversed in time t.
Lets see why the areas covered in each unit of
At this point, Feynman deviates from Newtime are equal. Take any two successive triangles, tons argument. Instead of breaking the orbit up
extend their common side, and draw parallels as into equal-time pieces, he breaks it into equalshown:
angle pieces. If the angles are small, the areas

R. W. Hall & N. Higson Paths of the Planets

swept out are approximately proportional to the

square of the radius, that is,
area constant r2 .
Let v be the velocity vector, and use v to denote the change in v during the time t. Note
that t is now the time taken to traverse the angle . v will be a vector pointing towards the
sun. The length of v, denoted kvk is the total change in the planets velocity on the interval
t. Newtons inverse square law tells us that
kvk = constant

k2 Pk

4 2 r(t)2
.
T2

Since Keplers third law states that

3

T = constant r 2 ,
then
k2 Pk constant

(t)2
.
r2

3. Remember that were actually trying to find the

1
length of v. The velocity vector v equals t
P,
1
so v is t
2 P. Conclude that acceleration due

1
t.
r2

Since r2 is proportional to area,

kvk constant

2. Assume is small. Let r be the radius of the circle,

and T the time taken to complete one revolution,
and approximate kPk and kPk in terms of r , T ,
and t. Show that

to gravity (that is,

to r 2 .

t
.
area swept out in t

But the area swept out in t is just a constant

multiple of t, by Keplers second law. Therefore
we can cancel area against time, and

kvk
)
t

is inversely proportional

Exercise 4

Well prove the assertion that area swept

out over equal angles is proportional to the square of the
radius. Assume that is small enough that it makes
sense to approximate the areas by triangles.
triangle 1
r1

kvk constant
that is, the change in velocity with respect to
change in angle is constant.

triangle 2

r2

Exercise 3

We dont need to take the inverse-square

law of gravitation for grantedwe can derive it, as Newton
did, from Keplers third law! Were going to prove the
inverse square law for circular orbits.
1. Assuming the action of gravity does not vary on a
circular orbit, the planet will travel with constant
speed. The orbit can be approximated by a regular
polygon. Let the vector P represent position, P
change in position, and 2 P change in P.
show these are
similar triangles

Here are two pieces of the orbit. The radius is the length
of the bisector of . Construct perpendiculars to the
radius, as shown, and argue that the shaded triangles are
similar. Moreover, show they have the same area as the
original triangles. Then show
r2
area of triangle 1
= 12
area of triangle 2
r2
and conclude that area is proportional to the square of
the radius.

P2

P1
2P

Show that the exterior angle marked is equal to ,

and use that to argue that the shaded triangles are
similar. Conclude that
k2 Pk
kPk
=
.
kPk
kPk

The Velocity Diagram (Hodograph)

Any point along the orbit corresponds to a velocity vector which is tangent to the orbit and whose
length signifies the speed at which the planet is
travelling. Translate all the velocity vectors to a
point. This is called a velocity diagram or hodograph.

R. W. Hall & N. Higson Paths of the Planets

velocity vectors

v
v
v

orbit

velocity diagram
What is the shape of the figure formed by the
ends of the arrows in the velocity diagram? Lets Notice that the angles created by the lines bebreak the orbit up into equal-angle pieces, and tween the ends of the velocity vectors and the
center of the polygon are equal to . This
compute the velocity vector after each .
means that the angle swept out from the center of the velocity diagram is equal to the angle
swept out from the sun. As 0, we get a
circle.
v
v
Exercise 5 If the orbit of the planet is not closed,

v
v

is the velocity diagram still a circle? Suppose the orbit

is a hyperbola. For some values of , a ray from the sun
will not intersect the orbit (Why?). If we break the orbit
up into equal angle pieces, does the relationship kvk =
constant still hold? Sketch the velocity diagram for a
hyperbolic orbit.

orbit
v
v v
v

velocity
vectors

v
changes in
velocities

The Shape of the Orbit

Now we know the shape of the velocity diagram,
but we actually started out trying to find the
shape of the orbit. Were going to need the following:

Note that
Each v has the same length, since kvk =
constant.
Each v points beyond the previous one,
since v points towards the sun in the original diagram.

The Tangent Principle If two curves

(in polar coordinates) r1 () and r2 ()
have the same tangent at every ,
then they are the same, up to scaling.

r1 ()

r2 ()

So, if we can show that the tangent to the orbit

So, if the orbit is closed, then the figure created at every point is the same as the tangent to an
by the vs is a regular polygon with exactly ellipse, then the orbit itself is an ellipse.
360
sides.
Heres a planet orbiting the sun.

R. W. Hall & N. Higson Paths of the Planets

Sun

l
B
A

orbit

Draw the velocity diagram for the orbit by translating all velocity vectors to a point A.

Construct a perpendicular bisector p to the segment AB. Call the intersection of p with OB P 0 .
Notice that what we have just done is exactly the
circle construction of an ellipse! So P 0 is a point
on an ellipse and p is the tangent to the ellipse.
Since line l0 is perpendicular to our original line
l, p is parallel to it. That is, the tangent to the
ellipse constructed above and the tangent to the
orbit agree at every . By the tangent principle,
the orbit of the planet must be an ellipse.

References
[1] David L. Goodstein and Judith R. Goodstein.
Feynmans Lost Lecture : the motion of planets around the sun. W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 1996.

Suppose l is the tangent line to the orbit at point

P . Since the velocity vector at P is also tangent
to the orbit, the line l0 in the velocity diagram is
parallel to line l. Let B be the intersection of line
l0 with the circle, and O the center of the circle.
As we have remarked before, the angle swept out
in the orbit is equal to the angle swept out from
the center of the velocity diagram. Hence angle
AOB will be equal to .
Now rotate the entire diagram clockwise by
90 .