26 For Further Exploration: Orbits and Gravity
Articles
Brahe and Kepler
Christianson, G. “The Celestial Palace of Tycho Brahe.” Scientific American (February 1961): 118.
Gingerich, O. “Johannes Kepler and the Rudolphine Tables.” Sky & Telescope (December 1971): 328. Brief article on Kepler’s work.
Wilson, C. “How Did Kepler Discover His First Two Laws?” Scientific American (March 1972): 92.
Newton
Christianson, G. “Newton’s Principia: A Retrospective.” Sky & Telescope (July 1987): 18.
Cohen, I. “Newton’s Discovery of Gravity.” Scientific American (March 1981): 166.
Gingerich, O. “Newton, Halley, and the Comet.” Sky & Telescope (March 1986): 230.
Sullivant, R. “When the Apple Falls.” Astronomy (April 1998): 55. Brief overview.
The Discovery of Neptune
Sheehan, W., et al. “The Case of the Pilfered Planet: Did the British Steal Neptune?” Scientific American (December 2004): 92.
Websites
Brahe and Kepler
- Johannes Kepler: His Life, His Laws, and Time: From NASA’s Kepler mission.
- Johannes Kepler: Encyclopedia Britannica article.
- Johannes Kepler: MacTutor article with additional links.
- Noble Dane: Images of Tycho Brahe: A virtual museum exhibit from Oxford.
Newton
- Sir Isaac Newton: MacTutor article with additional links.
- Sir Isaac Newton: Newton Biography at the Luminarium.
The Discovery of Neptune
- Adams, Airy, and the Discovery of Neptune: A defense of Airy’s role by historian Alan Chapman.
- Mathematical Discovery of Planets: MacTutor article.
Videos
Brahe and Kepler
“Harmony of the Worlds.” This third episode of Carl Sagan’s TV series Cosmos focuses on Kepler and his life and work.
Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Planetary Motion: German-produced video, in English (14:27)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3ALuycrCwI
Newton
Beyond the Big Bang: Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Gravity: From the History Channel (4:35)
Sir Isaac Newton versus Bill Nye: Epic Rap Battles of History: (2:47)
The Discovery of Neptune
Richard Feynman: On the Discovery of Neptune: A brief black-and-white Caltech lecture (4:33)