Laws of Planetary Motion – Galilean Satellites
This activity is part of teaching unit 5, Laws of Planetary Motion. You can find the introduction and teaching guide here.
The laws of planetary motion are not only valid for the planets, they are also valid to describe the motion of the satellites around the planet they orbit. In this activity you will be able to calculate the orbits of some of Jupiter’s satellites and calculate the mass of the planet using real images of Jupiter and its moons obtained with the Liverpool Telescope.
- Download the GUIDEof the activity.
- Download the images of the JUPITER SATELLITES you are going to work with.
- If you haven’t already done so, download the software (PeterSoft) to view and analyse the images.
Remember you can also obtain your own images of the planets in “Go Observing” and make new measurements and investigations.
Resource Link
Activity Information
Big Ideas
Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences in human history
Astronomy is a science that studies celestial objects and phenomena in the Universe
Astronomy benefits from and stimulates technology development
Cosmology is the science of exploring the Universe as a whole
We all live on a small planet within the Solar System
Source: IAC – Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias