How longs an earth orbit?

Answer 1

-- The earth itself is in orbit around the sun, at a distance that averages about

93 million miles. At this distance, it takes 365.23 days (rounded) to complete

each orbital revolution.

-- Objects can orbit the earth at any distance that keeps them outside the atmosphere.

The time required to complete each orbital revolution depends on the size of the orbit.

The International Space Station, at an orbital altitude of about 220 miles, takes 92 minutes

for each revolution. TV satellites, at orbital altitudes of 22,236 miles, take exactly 1 day

for each revolution ... that's why they don't appear to move at all in the sky.

The Moon, at an orbital altitude of 238,000 miles, takes 27.3 days for each revolution.

Answer 2

Briefly:

The length of Earth's orbit can be measured in time or space.

That is 365.25 days or approx 940,000,000 kilometers or 584,000,000 miles.

Time: Length of a Year

There are two lengths of the year in terms of time:

• The Tropical year is the time taken between one vernal equinox and the next
• The Sidereal year is the time taken for the earth to make one orbit of the sun and return to its starting point.

In 2000 the mean tropical year was 365.24219 days and the mean sidereal year was 365.2564 days

The time it takes the Earth to orbit around the Sun changes by a few minutes each year because the Earth's path is slightly affected by the other planets, mostly Saturn and Jupiter. In 2007 the year was about 11 minutes longer and in 2010 it was 12 minutes shorter, but in 2013, it will be within a minute.

Space: Circumference of Ellipse

Two ways to calculate the length.

1. Use the average speed times the length of a year.

For Earth, the orbital period (year) is 365.25 days which takes place at an average of distance of 149,600,000 km from the sun at an average speed of 29.8 km/s.

(365.25 days) * 29.8 * (km / s) ≈ 940 000 000 kilometers

2. Use geometry.

If the Earth's orbit were a circle, the length of the orbit would be the circumference,

C=2 pi r.

2 * pi * (149 600 000 kilometers) ≈ 940,000,000 kilometers

In miles the mean radius is 93,000,000 miles

→ length is approx 2 × π × 93,000,000 ≈ 584,000,000 miles.

Since the orbit is more nearly an ellipse, we could approximate the circumference as C= pi (a+b), but that does not actually improve the accuracy. The exact calculation of the circumference of an ellipse turns out to be difficult but the answer above is within one percent.

Answer 3

The length of the orbit of a celestial body depends on the combined masses of the bodies concerned and their distance from each other. Generally, the closer a body is to its primary the less time it will take to orbit. Hence, in our solar system, the closer planets to the sun have a shorter orbital time than the more distant ones.