The planets move around the sun in elliptical orbits with the sun at one focus. The point in the orbit as which the planet is closest to the sun is called perihelion, and the point at which it is the farthest is called aphelion. These points are the vertices of the orbit. The earth's distance from the sun is 147,000,000 km at perihelion and 153,000,000 km at aphelion.
Now here's the question:
With an eccentricity of 0.25, Pluto's orbit is the most eccentric in the solar system. The length of the minor axis of its orbit is approximately 10,000,000,000 km. Find the distance between Pluto and the sun at perihelion and at apheliion.
Now here is the diagram:
http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/544/picnx2.jpg
2007-05-03
16:31:06
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2 answers
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asked by
Anonymous
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Mathematics