CELESTIAL MECHANICS

Zhao Chen, Jamie Dougherty, Charlene Grahn, Meghan Kane, Richard Li, David Pan, Matthew Salesi, Katelyn Seither, Akash Shah, Sanjeev Tewani, Robert Won

Advisor: Dr. Steve Surace
Assistant: Jessica Kiscadden

ABSTRACT

The goal of this project was to explore the mechanics of the heavenly bodies - the Sun, the planets, and the stars. To do this, Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion were derived through the use of Newton 's Laws of motion, and analysis of elliptical geometry yielded mathematical solutions to the orbital paths of the planets. Spherical triangles were used to analyze the celestial sphere and to ultimately analyze the motion of the other heavenly bodies in this sphere with respect to a stationary observer. Ultimately, a model was created that could determine the location of a planet on any given day, and a further geometrical analysis allowed for the construction of a working sundial, which could tell time to a reasonable degree of accuracy. The work done on the project provided a practical application of Kepler's Laws and both planar and spherical geometry, and led to a better understanding of the workings of motion as related to the celestial sphere.