Newton extended Kepler's first law by showing that objects such as comets can also have orbits shaped like
A) ellipses
B) hyperbolas
C) circles
D) ovals
Kepler showed that the planets most likely have elliptical orbits.
Newton showed that IF his formula for gravity is correct, then EVERY object moving according to the gravitational influence of the sun must move in a path that is a 'conic section'.
Depending on the body's total energy, its path must either be an ellipse, a circle, a parabola, or a hyperbola.
