Final answer:
Johannes Kepler, using Tycho Brahe's data, found that planets orbit in elliptical paths with the Sun at one focus, which he formulated as Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion.
Step-by-step explanation:
Johannes Kepler, working with information from Tycho Brahe, established that planets travel in elliptical orbits. Kepler's groundbreaking work led to his formulation of the three laws of planetary motion. Kepler's First Law, specifically, states that the orbit of each planet around the Sun is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci. This discovery contradicted the then-prevailing belief that orbits were perfect circles and significantly advanced the field of astronomy, contributing to our understanding of celestial mechanics.
Kepler's First Law
Kepler's First Law explains that planetary orbits are ellipses, not circles, with the Sun located at one focus of the ellipse. An ellipse is a closed curve and is described as being oval-shaped, where any point on the ellipse maintains the property that the sum of its distances to two fixed points (foci) is a constant. This finding was in contrast to the circular orbits theory and showcased the importance of empirical data in developing scientific theories.
Kepler's contribution had a profound impact on astronomy and remained significant in the development of modern science, serving as an essential foundation for Newton's Laws of Motion and Universal Gravitation.