Home > Encyclopedia of Science > Celestial Mechanics

• Early Greeks
• Words to Know
• Copernican revolution
• Kepler's laws
• Newtonian mechanics
• Gravity as a universal force

Celestial mechanics is a branch of astronomy that studies the movement of bodies in outer space. Using a mathematical theory, it explains the observed motion of the planets and allows us to predict their future movements. It also comes into play when we launch a satellite into space and expect to direct its flight.

Early Greeks

Until English scientist and mathematician Isaac Newton (1642–1727) founded the science of celestial mechanics over 300 years ago, the movement of the planets regularly baffled astronomers or anyone who studied the...