Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer who lived in the early 17th century, discovered some important laws about orbits. Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion states that planets move in elliptical orbits. His Second Law explains how planets move faster when they are close to the Sun (near perihelion) than when they are far away (near aphelion).

Accordingly, because of his actions (his introduction of elliptical orbits), Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) helped to refine the heliocentric model (a model of the Solar System in which the Earth and planets revolved around the Sun). Prior to this, the heliocentric model still made use of circular orbits, which did not explain why planets orbited the Sun at different speeds at different times. By showing how the planet’s sped up while at certain points in their orbits, and slowed down in others, Kepler resolved difficult issues about orbital speeds and times.

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