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Mercury has the shortest orbit and moves most quickly around the sun because it's the closest planet to our neighborhood star. If it moved any slower, it would spiral into the sun and disappear. If it moved faster, it might extend its elliptical orbit farther from the Sun, where conversely it would also move more slowly.
If a planet farther out moved at the speed of Mercury, it would arc out of its orbit and disappear from the solar system.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoBeing the planet closest to the sun, Mercury benefits from two results:
1). The distance that it has to go around the sun is shorter than the length of any other planet's orbit.
2). The way gravity works is that having the smallest orbit, its speed is higher than any other planet's speed.
So Mercury has the shortest distance to go, and travels at the highest speed.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoMercury is the closest planet to the Sun, and the greater solar gravity there requires objects to move faster to avoid being drawn into the Sun. This faster speed, along with the shorter orbit distance, means that Mercury completes a revolution around the Sun much faster than other planets, a period equal to about 88 Earth days.
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoMercury's period of revolution (year) is the shortest of the major planets because Mercury is closer to the Sun, creating a shorter orbital path. It also has to orbit faster to avoid being drawn in by the greater gravitational pull of the Sun at that distance.
According to Kepler's Third Law, the cube of the semi major axis divided by the orbital period squared demands that an object requires two factors to stay in orbit about other object: distance to the object of orbit and the velocity at which the object doing the orbiting moves. Kepler states that if an object doing the orbiting moves closer to the object being orbited, the velocity of the orbiting object must increase to remain in orbit, otherwise the object will have unbalanced forces about it and therefore fall into the object being orbited due to gravity.
In addition, since Mercury is closer to the Sun, it has less distance to travel to complete an orbit and therefore its period is shorter than the other planets.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoBecause it s closest to the sun and so its orbit is shortest. One orbit = 1 year.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoMercury has the shortest year because it has no moons and woth no moons the shorter the year.
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Which planets will orbit faster or slower?
Neptune is the slowest and mercury is the fastest
When will a planet travel fastest in its orbit?
The earth is moving fastest in its orbit at the moment of perihelion, when it is closest to the sun. the happens around January 3.
How many days does it take to orbit Mercury?
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and it is the fastest to orbit the sun. It takes 88 days for the Mercury to completely orbit the sun.
Who named Mercury and what year?
no one really knows who named mercury and in what year :] :}
Why is mercury the fastest planet?
Because its the second smallest planet. 76 south and 96701 pplz w/hea ;)
Is Neptune the fastest planet?
No, Jupiter has the fastest rotation and Mercury has the fastest orbit.
What planets orbit the sun faster than Saturn?
the fastest planet that orbit's the sun is mercury.
Which planets will orbit faster or slower?
Neptune is the slowest and mercury is the fastest
What planet orbits around the sun the fastest?
The planet that is closest to the sun will orbit the fastest because its orbit is much smaller than the others. Mercury would be the correct answer. mercury because the first one has less distance to travel
Which planet would orbit around the sun the fastest?
The closer to the primary, the faster the orbit. Mercury is closest, and orbits the Sun in 88 days.
What is the fastest plant?
The fastest planet around the Sun is Mercury, which takes 88 days to orbit. The planet with the fastest rotation is Jupiter, which takes 10 hours to rotate.
When will a planet travel fastest in its orbit?
The earth is moving fastest in its orbit at the moment of perihelion, when it is closest to the sun. the happens around January 3.
How many days does it take to orbit Mercury?
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and it is the fastest to orbit the sun. It takes 88 days for the Mercury to completely orbit the sun.
Which planet ravolves fastest around the sun?
Mercury...cos it's closest therefore has the shortest orbit
Who of all the planets in our solar system has the fastest speed?
Of what? orbit: Mercury spin: Jupiter wind: Neptune
Why is planet Mercury the fastest in its orbit?
Because it is nearer to the Sun than all of the other planets. Its orbit is inside that of all of the other planets, so it shorter.
What are slowest to fastest planet to orbit the sun?
Curiously, the nearer the planet is to the Sun the faster it orbits. Thus Mercury orbits the fastest, whereas Neptune is the slowest.
