Earth revolves in eliptical path?

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Early scientists determined that Earth's orbit is elliptical rather than circular by observing its relative position to the sun and stars. They noted that the orbital speed varies with distance from the sun, indicating an elliptical path. Additionally, observations of other planets provided further insights, although these were more complex due to their significant movements. Kepler's laws of planetary motion played a crucial role in formalizing these findings. Understanding Earth's elliptical orbit has been fundamental to the field of astronomy.
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hi , how earlier scientist figure out that Earth has elliptical motion rather than circular around sun?
 
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You can track the relative position of Earth and sun relative to stars - the orbital speed depends on our distance to the sun, if that changes the orbit has to be a (true) ellipse.
You can use observations of other planets as well, but that is tricky as those move significantly within a year.
 

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