Asked by Sara

The distance between the Earth and Mars when the two panets are at opposition varies greatly because of the large eccentricity of Mar's orbit. The perihelion distance of a planet is given by rmin=a(1-e)and the aphelion distance by rmax=a(1+e) where a is the semimajor axis and e is the orbital eccentricity. Find the smallest and largest opposition distances assuming the Earth's orbit is a circle.

Answers

Answered by tchrwill
The eccentricity of Mar's orbit is .0934.

The semi-major axis is 141,643,675 miles.

Therefore, the perihelion distance is
r(p) = 141,643,675(1-.0934) = 128,414,418.
and
r(a) = 141,643,675(1+.0934) = 154,871,931.

The mean radius of the earth's orbit is
r = 92,960,242 miles.
Answered by sarah
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Answered by Goobers
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