Keplerian Orbits and Dynamics of Exoplanets

Understand

Understanding the consequences of the gravitational interaction between a star and a planet is fundamental to the study of exoplanets.

• The solution of the two-body problem shows that the planet moves in an elliptical path around the star and that each body moves in an ellipse about the common center of mass.
• The basic properties of such a system are derived from first principles and described in the context of detecting exoplanets.