Skip to main content
Home
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Header Menu

  • Activities & Multimedia
  • Ask An Explainer
  • About the Exhibit

Section Menu

  • Forces of Flight
    • The Four Forces
    • We Aren't Built to Fly
  • Gravity & Air
    • Gravity
    • Air
    • Buoyancy
  • Aerodynamics
    • Air in Motion
    • Subsonic Wings
    • Factors Affecting Lift
    • Alternative Theories of Lift
    • Pressure Drag
    • Friction Drag
    • Vortex Drag
    • Waves in the Air
    • Shock Waves
  • Propulsion
    • Propellers
    • Engines
    • Rocket Propulsion
    • Vertical Flight
  • Structures & Materials
    • Weight and Strength
    • Materials
    • Hypersonic Vehicles
    • Shaped for Space
  • Flight Dynamics
    • Control Surfaces
    • Roll, Pitch, and Yaw
    • Instruments
    • Gravity in Orbit
    • Newton’s Laws of Motion
    • Kepler’s Laws of Orbital Motion
    • Moving in Space
    • Thrusters and Spinning Wheels
  • Activities
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Kepler’s Third Law

Illustration showing Kepler’s Third Law
Credit: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution

Kepler’s Third Law compares the motion of objects in orbits of different sizes. A planet farther from the Sun not only has a longer path than a closer planet, but it also travels slower, since the Sun’s gravitational pull on it is weaker. Therefore, the larger a planet’s orbit, the longer the planet takes to complete it.

 

Categories: Flight Dynamics
Explore Activities & Multimedia

Footer Menu

  • Terms Of Use
  • Privacy
  • Kids Online Privacy Statement
  • Contact
  • About the Exhibition
  • Sponsors
  • Donate