Given the two foci of an ellipse and a tangent line of the ellipse, can one construct the ellipse with a compass and a straightedge?
2026-04-24 14:48:13.1777042093
Construct an ellipse given foci and a tangent line
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$A$ and $B$ are the two foci, $B'$ is the mirror image of $B$ about the tangent. Now $AB'$ meets the tangent at $C$. Construct the ellipse with string of length $AB'=AC+BC$ with its ends on foci $A$ and $B$.