Which mathematician and astronomer calculated the laws of planetary motion?

The story behind the answer

Johannes Kepler calculated the laws of planetary motion.

Kepler published three laws describing how planets move around the Sun. The first states that planetary orbits are ellipses with the Sun at one focus. The second says a line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times. The third relates a planet’s orbital period to the size of its orbit.

He derived these rules from exceptionally precise observations made by Tycho Brahe, especially observations of Mars. Kepler published the first two laws in Astronomia nova in 1609 and the third in Harmonices Mundi in 1619.

Kepler’s work improved the heliocentric model proposed by Copernicus by replacing circular orbits with ellipses. Isaac Newton later showed that Kepler’s laws follow from universal gravitation. Kepler also contributed to optics, geometry, and the design of an improved telescope.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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