In virtually every decade from 1650 to the present there have appeared
papers devoted to the Kepler problem and its solution. We can see from a list
of them that the problem has enticed a wide variety of scientists to comment
on or involve themselves in its solution.
It is surely not unique in science for a specific problem to be given so
much attention over so long a period—particularly if it resists solution, if its
partial solutions are inadequate or unsatisfactory, or if it is recharged with
new interpretations and new applications. Still, it is curious that the Kepler
problem should have continued to be this interesting to so many for so long.
Admittedly it is a problem central to celestial mechanics, but it is a technical
little problem for which a number of satisfactory solutions are long known.
With the advent of calculators and computers, there is no impediment to
achieving quick solutions of great accuracy. The problem has neither the
broad appeal of an Olbers Paradox, nor the depth and intractability of a
many-body problem.