Question

What is the actual shape of the orbit of a planet around the sun? What assumption was made by Newton regarding the shape of an orbit of a planet around the sun for deriving his inverse square rule from Kepler's third law of planetary motion?

Answer 1

The actual shape of the orbit of a planet around the sun is elliptical. The assumption made by the Newton regarding the shape of an orbit of a planet around the sun was that the orbit of a planet around the sun is ‘circular’.

All planets move in elliptical orbits, with the sun at one focus. This is one of Kepler's laws. The elliptical shape of the orbit is a result of the inverse square force of gravity. The eccentricity of the ellipse is greatly exaggerated here.