Determining the Eccentricity of the Earth’s Orbit

Presenter(s): Stephen Broderick

Affiliation(s): St Ursula's College, Toowoomba.

Session details: Sunday, 2020-04-12 01:00:00, SUN

Abstract

After working on Tycho Brahe’s Mar’s data for several years, Kepler was able to determine that the orbit of Mars was elliptical. Kepler correctly inferred that all planets travel in elliptical orbits. The eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit took hundreds of years to be accurately determined; however, today it can be calculated by using several images of the Sun either from the internet or by using a DLSR camera with a telescope. Ten weekly images of the Sun can be used to determine the perihelion and aphelion of the Sun, which in turn allows for the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit to be calculated.

Biography

Stephen Broderick has been a teacher of mathematics and science at St Ursula’s College for 34 years and was the mathematics coordinator for 22 years. Stephen is currently a T3 National Instructor with Texas Instruments (Teachers Teaching with Technology) and has presented workshops on STEM. He is also a Champion and a member of the STEM special interest in the National Resolve project. Stephen is passionate about the connections between Mathematics and Astronomy and is currently completing his Masters in Science majoring in Astronomy.