Experienced astronomers are well aware of the fact that the orbital speed of the planets is directly related to their distance from the center of the system - the Sun. Well, and people who are just starting to study the amazing science of celestial bodies would probably be interested to learn more about it.
What is Orbital Velocity?
An orbit is the trajectory along which a particular planet moves around the sun. It does not at all represent a perfect circle, as some people who are not versed in astronomy think. Moreover, it does not even resemble an oval too much - after all, there are a large number of factors, with the exception of the gravitational force of the Sun, that can affect the movement of celestial bodies.
It is also worth immediately dispelling another well-known myth - the sun is not always exactly in the center of the orbits of the planets revolving around it.
Finally, it should be noted that not all the orbits of the planets lie in the same plane. Some are significantly knocked out of it - for example, if you depict the standard orbits of the Earth and Venus on an astronomical map, you can make sure that they have only a few points of intersection.
Now that we have more or less sorted out with orbits, we can return to the definition of the term for the orbital velocity of planets. This is what astronomers call the speed at which the planet moves along its trajectory. It may change slightly - depending on which celestial bodies pass nearby. This is especially noticeable in the example of Mars: every time it passes in relative proximity to Jupiter, it slows down a little, being attracted by the gravitational field of this giant.
Scientists have long established the dependence of the speed of movement of the planets around the Sun on the distance to it.
That is, the planet closest to the Sun - Mercury - moves the fastest, while Pluto's speed is the smallest in the solar system.
What is the reason for this?
The fact is that the speed of each planet corresponds to the force with which the Sun attracts it at a certain distance. If the speed is less, then the planet will gradually approach the star and as a result will burn up. If the speed is too high, then the planet will simply fly away from the center of our solar system.
Every astronomer, even a beginner, knows perfectly well that the force of gravity decreases with distance from the Sun. That is why, in order to maintain its place in the solar system, Mercury is forced to rush at a breakneck speed, Mars can move more slowly, and Pluto barely moves at all.
Mercury
The planet closest to the Sun is Mercury. Here we will begin the study of the speed of the planets of the solar system.
It boasts not only the smallest orbital radius, but also small size. In our system, this is the smallest full-fledged planet. The distance from Mercury to the Sun is less than 58 million kilometers, due to which the temperature at its equator on a hot day can rise to 400 degrees Celsius and even more.
In addition, in order to stay in its orbit with the Sun so close, the planet has to move at a tremendous speed - about 47 kilometers per second. Since the length of the orbit is very small due to the small radius, it makes a complete revolution around the star in just 88 days. That is, the New Year can be celebrated there much more often than on Earth. But the speed of rotation of the planet around its own axis is very small - Mercury makes a full revolution in almost 59 Earth days. So, the day here is not much shorter than a year.
Venus
The next planet in our system is Venus. The only one on which the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east. The distance to the center of the system is 108 million kilometers. Due to this, the speed of movement of the planet in orbit is much lower than that of Mercury (only 35 kilometers per second). Moreover, this is the only planet whose orbit is really an almost perfect circle - the error (or, as experts say, eccentricity) is extremely small.
True, the length of its orbit (in comparison with Mercury) is much longer, which is why Venus makes a full path in only 225 days. By the way, another interesting fact that distinguishes Venus from all other planets of the solar system: the period of rotation around the axis (one day) here is 243 Earth days. Consequently, the year here lasts less than a day.
Earth
Now you can consider the planet that has become the home for humanity - the Earth. The average distance to the Sun is nearly 150 million kilometers. It is this distance that is usually called one astronomical unit - they are used when calculating small (by the standards of the Universe) distances in space.
Believe it or not, while you are reading this article, you are moving with the Earth at a speed of almost 30 kilometers per second. But even at such an impressive speed, the planet spends more than 365 days or 1 year to make a complete revolution around the Sun. But it rotates around its axis quite quickly - in just 24 hours. However, these and many other facts about the Earth are obvious to everyone, so we will not consider our home planet in detail. Let's go straight to the next one.
Mars
This planet is named after the formidable god of war. In all respects, Mars is as close as possible to Earth. For example, the planet's orbital speed is 24 kilometers per second. The distance to the Sun is about 228 million kilometers, which is why it is quite cool on the surface most of the time - only during the day it warms up to -5 degrees Celsius, and at night it gets colder to -87 degrees.
But the day here is practically equal to that of the earth - 24 hours and 40 minutes. For simplicity, a new term was even coined for the Martian day - sol.
Since the distance to the Sun is quite large, and the trajectory of motion is much longer than that of the Earth, the year here lasts quite a long time - as much as 687 days.
The eccentricity of the planet is not too large - about 0.09, so the orbit can be considered conditionally round with the Sun located almost in the center of the circumscribed circle.
Jupiter
Jupiter got its name in honor of the most powerful ancient Roman god. It is not surprising that this particular planet can boast of the largest dimensions in the solar system - its radius is almost 70 thousand square kilometers (the Earth, for example, has only 6 371 kilometers).
The distance from the Sun allows Jupiter to rotate rather slowly - only 13 kilometers per second. Because of this, it takes the planet almost 12 Earth years to complete a circle!
But the day here is the shortest in our system - 9 hours and 50 minutes. The tilt of the axis of rotation is extremely small here - only 3 degrees. For comparison, our planet has this figure of 23 degrees. Because of this, there are absolutely no seasons on Jupiter. The temperature is always the same, changing only for short days.
Jupiter's eccentricity is quite small - less than 0.05. Therefore, he uniformly winds circles strictly around the Sun.
Saturn
This planet is not too inferior to Jupiter in size, being the second largest cosmic body in our solar system. Its radius is 58 thousand kilometers.
The speed of the planet in orbit, as mentioned above, continues to fall. For Saturn, this figure is only 9.7 kilometers per hour. And it takes a really great distance to travel at such a low speed - the distance to the Sun is almost 9.6 astronomical units. In total, this path takes 29.5 years. But the day is one of the shortest in the system - only 10.5 hours.
The eccentricity of the planet is almost the same as that of Jupiter - 0.056. Therefore, the circle turns out to be quite even - perihelion and aphelion differ by only 162 million kilometers. Considering the huge distance to the Sun, the difference is very small.
Interestingly, Saturn's rings also revolve around the planet. Moreover, the speed of the outer layers is much less than that of the inner ones.
Uranus
Another giant of the solar system. Only Jupiter and Saturn surpass it in size. True, Neptune also bypasses it in weight, but this is due to the high density of the core. The average distance to the Sun is really huge - as many as 19 astronomical units. It moves rather slowly - it can quite afford it at such a great distance. The planet's orbital speed does not exceed 7 kilometers per hour. Because of this slow pace, it takes 84 Earth years for Uranus to travel a huge distance around the Sun! A very decent time.
But around its axis, it rotates surprisingly quickly - a full revolution is completed in just 18 hours!
An amazing feature of the planet is that it rotates around itself not vertically, but horizontally. In other words, all other planets in the solar system make a revolution "standing" at the pole, and Uranus simply "rolls" in its orbit, as if lying on its side. Scientists explain this by the fact that during the formation of the planet, it collided with some kind of large cosmic body, because of which it simply fell on its side. Therefore, although in the generally accepted sense the day here is very short, at the poles the day lasts 42 years, and then the night stands for the same number of years.
Neptune
The ancient Roman ruler of the seas and oceans gave Neptune its proud name. No wonder even his trident became the symbol of the planet. In size, Neptune is the fourth planet in the solar system, only slightly inferior to Uranus - its average radius is 24,600 km versus 25,400.
It is kept at an average distance of 4.5 billion kilometers from the Sun, or 30 astronomical units. Therefore, the path that he makes, passing the orbit, is really huge. And if we consider that the circular speed of the planet is only 5.4 kilometers per second, then there is nothing surprising in the fact that one year here is equal to 165 Earth years.
An interesting fact: there is a rather dense atmosphere here (although it consists mainly of methane), and sometimes there are winds of amazing strength. Their speed can reach 2100 kilometers per hour - on Earth, even a single gust of such power would instantly destroy any city, leaving no stone unturned.
Pluto
Finally, the last planet on our list. More precisely, not even a planet, but a planetoid - recently it was deleted from the list of planets due to its small size. The average radius is only 1187 kilometers - even for our Moon this figure is 1737 kilometers. Nevertheless, its name is rather formidable - it was appropriated in honor of the god of the underworld of the dead among the ancient Romans.
The average distance from Pluto to the Sun is about 32 astronomical units. This allows him to feel safe and move at a speed of only 4.7 kilometers per second - Pluto will not fall on the red-hot star anyway. But to make a complete revolution around the Sun with such a huge radius, this tiny planet spends 248 Earth years.
It also rotates very slowly around its axis - it takes 152 Earth hours or more than 6 days.
In addition, the eccentricity is the largest in the solar system - 0.25. Therefore, the Sun is far from the center of the orbit, but is displaced by almost a quarter.
Conclusion
This concludes the article. Now you know about the speed of the planets in our solar system, as well as many other factors. Surely now you understand astronomy much better than before.
This is a system of planets, in the center of which is a bright star, the source of energy, heat and light - the Sun.
According to one theory, the Sun was formed together with the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago as a result of the explosion of one or more supernovae. Initially, the solar system was a cloud of gas and dust particles, which in motion and under the influence of their mass formed a disk in which a new star, the Sun and our entire solar system, arose.
In the center of the solar system is the Sun, around which nine large planets revolve in orbits. Since the Sun is displaced from the center of planetary orbits, then during the cycle of revolution around the Sun the planets either approach or move away in their orbits.
There are two groups of planets:
Terrestrial planets: and ... These planets are small in size with a rocky surface, they are closer to the Sun than others.
Planets giants: and ... These are large planets, consisting mainly of gas and are characterized by rings of ice dust and many rocky pieces.
But does not fall into any group, because, despite its location in the solar system, it is too far from the sun and has a very small diameter, only 2320 km, which is half the diameter of Mercury.
The planets of the solar system
Let's start a fascinating acquaintance with the planets of the solar system in order of their location from the sun, and also consider their main satellites and some other space objects (comets, asteroids, meteorites) in the gigantic expanses of our planetary system.
Rings and moons of Jupiter: Europa, Io, Ganymede, Callisto and others ...
The planet Jupiter is surrounded by a whole family of 16 satellites, and each of them has its own, unlike other features ...
Rings and moons of Saturn: Titan, Enceladus and others ...
Not only the planet Saturn has characteristic rings, but also other giant planets. Around Saturn, the rings are especially clearly visible, because they consist of billions of small particles that revolve around the planet, in addition to several rings, Saturn has 18 satellites, one of which is Titan, its diameter is 5000 km, which makes it the largest satellite of the solar system ...
Rings and moons of Uranus: Titania, Oberon and others ...
The planet Uranus has 17 satellites and, like other giant planets, thin rings encircling the planet, which practically do not have the ability to reflect light, so they were discovered not so long ago in 1977 by accident ...
Rings and moons of Neptune: 
Triton, Nereid and others ...
Initially, before the exploration of Neptune by the Voyager-2 spacecraft, it was known about two satellites of the planet - Triton and Nerida. An interesting fact is that the satellite Triton has the opposite direction of orbital motion; strange volcanoes were also discovered on the satellite, which spewed nitrogen gas, like geysers, spreading a dark mass (from a liquid state to vapor) for many kilometers into the atmosphere. During its mission, Voyager 2 discovered six more satellites of the planet Neptune ...
Scientists suggest that planet X is moving towards Earth, which is capable of destroying all life. Apparently, this is Nibiru, which experts have been looking for for so long. All the cataclysms that are now taking place in the world, according to scientists, are the reason for the approach to an unknown planet.
Scientists from the US Geological Survey believe that the giant planet X (Nibiru) actually exists and is already approaching Earth. All recent natural anomalies directly indicate the tidal forces of the mysterious planet. At the moment, typhoons, powerful eruptions and earthquakes are indeed often recorded on Earth, as well as torrential rains in arid areas, where the Sun usually shines brightly.
“Global warming, volcanic eruptions, droughts in previously rainy areas and vice versa, rains where they never happened are all indications that the Earth is moving closer to Planet X,” says Dr. Trowbridge.
The global restructuring of the climate heralds the arrival of Nibiru - a planet orbiting our mother star in a very elongated ellipsoidal orbit with a period of 36 thousand years. According to the calculations of some scientists, including Isaac Newton, the Apocalypse will come in 2060 with the arrival of the mysterious ninth planet.
Then the tidal forces of the giant space visitor will begin to tear apart the Earth, increasing volcanic and seismological activity. In addition, Nibiru can bring with it asteroid rain. The magnetosphere of our planet will also be under attack, climatologists conclude.
"The latter, although it has not yet been discovered, is rapidly approaching - I just feel it flying closer to us," Trowbridge said. He added that earlier researchers could not identify Nibiru due to the fact that it has a special elongated orbit, and its period of rotation around the Sun is 36 thousand years.
Planet X - Nibiru (Nibiru)
NASA recognized the likelihood (in 1982) of another new planet in the solar system. A year later (1983) NASA launches IRAS (Infrared Artificial Satellite) which detected a very large object. The Washington Post summarized an interview with a JPL IRAS scientist.
A celestial body possibly larger than the giant Jupiter and possibly as close to Earth as part of this solar system was discovered in the direction of the constellation Orion by an orbiting telescope.
What is Nibiru?
First, Nibiru is one of many planets orbiting a dark star or Brown Dwarf. This Dark Star has five minor planets, the sixth terrestrial homeland planet, and the seventh planet or object we call Nibiru.
The homeland is in many ways similar to the Earth and the place where the Ennaneki Giants or the Gods of antiquity live there. Nibiru is mostly uninhabitable and mostly acts as a battle station or spaceship.
When a dark star is at perihelion (the closest point of the orbit of a celestial body to the Sun) at 60 or 70 pairs, the orbit of Nibiru, which is 60 pairs. from its star, has an orbit large enough to pass through our solar system, usually close to the orbit of Jupiter, but this can change.
The orbital tilt of Nibiru is about 30 degrees to the plane of motion of our Sun or the ecliptic. As Nibiru passes through our solar system, moving in the opposite direction relative to other planets, it sometimes displaces the planet's orbit, being the main cause of destruction.
Its passage has a great impact, but it is fleeting and takes only a few weeks or months, in most cases it disappears from sight. The planet Nibiru is fiery red in color, with a splinter train and several moons flying around it.
Nibiru or its companions are responsible for such incidents as the destruction of Maldek, which is now the asteroid belt. It also causes craters or surface cracks on the moon and planets in our solar system, as well as changes in their tilt axis and orbits. She is the culprit behind the disappearance of Atlantis and the endless floods. She is the link between our solar system and the system of a dark star or star - the Brown Dwarf.
Nibiru was known as the winged (or horned) disc in the earthly past of humans.
Fact: As soon as Nibiru invaded the solar system, it quickly accelerated below the ecliptic, passing behind and below the sun before returning and passing from below the sun at an angle of 33 degrees. NASA is now observing Nibiru with the new S.P.T. (South Pole Telescope Area) telescope at the South Pole.
For the first time, humans will be able to see Nibiru every day since May 15, 2009 as a faint reddish object. It will move straight along the earth's orbit. This means that until 2009 the only opportunity to see it is from the southern hemisphere of the Earth.
By May 2011, it will be possible to observe it with the naked eye to all people of the planet. December 21, 2012 Nibiru will pass through the planet's ecliptic as a bright red star and will look like the second largest sun. Earthquakes will pass and bad weather will begin.
But the worst, however, will come on February 14, 2013, the Earth will pass between Nibiru and the Sun. The poles will move, the tilt of the planet will change! Great changes on Earth, the strongest earthquakes and the most powerful tsunamis will take place around the world!
After July 1, 2014, Nibiru will no longer terrorize our world and will move away from our part of the galaxy. NASA knows about Nibiru, but in order not to cause panic, they hide the truth from people!
Knowledgeable person from NASA, D.o.D. - National Military Intelligence, S.E.T.I., and the CIA admit that 2/3 of the world's population will die during the pole change from the passage of Nibiru.
Another 2/3 of those who survive will be hungry and die in the beginning within 6 months!
The most secret US government agency is well aware of what to expect and prepare for it. The Vatican has the same information. The population will not be warned and given a chance to prepare! +
The volume of incoming information from knowledgeable people, observatories and the Vatican is in a wide stream. The most important story on Earth in 3,000 years is rapidly breaking free from the shackles of financial market rulers.
So there is still time to prepare for this disaster. Anyway, we should see this red planet in the blue sky of the Earth. We will watch this new possible catastrophe and keep everyone in the thick of things.
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Even in ancient times, pundits began to understand that it is not the Sun that revolves around our planet, but everything happens exactly the opposite. Nicolaus Copernicus put an end to this controversial fact for mankind. The Polish astronomer created his own heliocentric system, in which he convincingly proved that the Earth is not the center of the Universe, and all the planets, in his firm belief, revolve in orbits around the Sun. The work of the Polish scientist "On the rotation of the celestial spheres" was published in the German Nuremberg in 1543.
The ancient Greek astronomer Ptolemy was the first to express the idea of \u200b\u200bhow the planets are located in the firmament in his treatise "The Great Mathematical Construction in Astronomy". He was the first to suggest that they make their movements in a circle. But Ptolemy mistakenly believed that all the planets, as well as the Moon and the Sun, move around the Earth. Prior to Copernicus's work, his treatise was generally accepted in both the Arab and Western worlds.
From Brahe to Kepler
After the death of Copernicus, his work was continued by the Dane Tycho Brahe. The astronomer, who is a very wealthy man, equipped his island with impressive bronze circles, on which he applied the results of observations of celestial bodies. The results obtained by Brahe helped the mathematician Johannes Kepler in the study. It was the German who systematized the motion of the planets of the solar system and derived his three famous laws.
From Kepler to Newton
Kepler was the first to prove that all 6 planets known by that time move around the Sun not in a circle, but in ellipses. The Englishman Isaac Newton, having discovered the law of universal gravitation, significantly advanced the concept of mankind about the elliptical orbits of celestial bodies. His explanations that the ebb and flow of the Earth occur under the influence of the Moon proved to be convincing for the scientific world.
Around the sun
Comparative sizes of the largest satellites of the solar system and the terrestrial planets.
The period during which the planets make a complete revolution around the Sun is naturally different. For Mercury, the closest to the star, it is 88 Earth days. Our Earth goes through a cycle in 365 days and 6 hours. The largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter completes its revolution in 11.9 Earth years. Well, Pluto, the planet farthest from the Sun, has a turnover of 247.7 years.
It should also be taken into account that all the planets in our solar system move, not around the star, but around the so-called center of mass. Each at the same time, rotating around its axis, slightly swayed (like a whirligig). In addition, the axis itself may move slightly.
Today there is not the slightest doubt that the Earth revolves around the Sun. If not so long ago, on the scale of the history of the Universe, people were sure that the center of our galaxy is the Earth, then today there is no doubt that everything is happening exactly the opposite.
And today we will figure out why the Earth and all other planets move around the Sun.
Why planets revolve around the sun
Both the Earth and all the other planets of our solar system move along their trajectory around the Sun. Their speed and trajectory may be different, but they are all kept by our natural luminary.
Our task is to make it as simple and accessible as possible to understand why the Sun became the center of the universe, attracting all other celestial bodies to itself.
To begin with, the Sun is the largest object in our galaxy. The mass of our star is several times greater than the mass of all other bodies in the aggregate. And in physics, as you know, there is a force of universal gravity, which has not been canceled, including for the Cosmos. Its law states that bodies with less mass are attracted to bodies with more mass. That is why all planets, satellites and other space objects are attracted to the Sun, the largest of them.
The force of gravity, by the way, works in a similar way on Earth. Think, for example, of what happens to a tennis ball thrown into the air. It falls, gravitating towards the surface of our planet.
Understanding the principle of aspiration of planets to the Sun, the obvious question arises: why do they not fall on the surface of the star, but move around it along their own trajectory.
And this also has a completely understandable explanation. The thing is that the Earth and other planets are in constant motion. And, in order not to go into formulas and scientific rantings, we will give one more simple example. Take a tennis ball again and imagine that you were able to throw it forward with a force that is beyond the reach of any human. This ball will fly forward, continuing to fall down, gravitating towards the Earth. However, the Earth, as you remember, has the shape of a ball. Thus, the ball will be able to fly around our planet along a certain trajectory endlessly, being attracted to the surface, but moving so fast that its trajectory will constantly bend around the circumference of the globe.
A similar situation occurs in Space, where everything and everyone revolves around the Sun. As for the orbit of each of the objects, the trajectory of their movement depends on the speed and mass. And these indicators for all objects, as you know, are different.
This is why the Earth and other planets move around the Sun, and not otherwise.