The Perihelion Effect

How fast does the Earth go at perihelion and aphelion?

How fast does the Earth go at perihelion and aphelion?

 

The formula for the velocity of an object at some distance r from the Sun is:

v = sqrt[GM*(2/r – 1/a)]

Where G is the universal gravitational constant, M is the mass of the Sun, and a is the planet’s semimajor axis.

At perihelion, Earth’s distance from the Sun is r=a(1-e) and at aphelion, it’s r=a(1+e).

G=6.673*10-11 N m2/kg2

M=1.989*1030 kg

a=1.496*1011 m

e=0.017

So plugging in the numbers,

speed at perihelion is 30,300 m/s and at aphelion it’s 29,300 m/s.

Perihelion
Joseph Schuster

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