• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Space / Why Do the Planets In Our Solar System Have Elliptical Orbits and What Is a Planet’s Aphelion and Perihelion?

Why Do the Planets In Our Solar System Have Elliptical Orbits and What Is a Planet’s Aphelion and Perihelion?

June 14, 2020 by Karen Hill

Ellipses are oval shapes.

In more technical terms, an ellipse is a plane curve that results from the intersection of a cone by a plane in a way that produces a closed curve.

All planets orbit the Sun in ellipses, not perfect circles.

This is because their trajectories are affected by the gravitational forces of not just the Sun, but each other as well.

Some ellipses are nearly flat, while others are almost circular.

A planet’s aphelion is the point in its elliptical orbit when it is farthest from the Sun; its perihelion is its closest point to the Sun.

A planet moves faster at its perihelion than at its aphelion.

When we mention the distance or speed of a planet’s orbit, we are referring to the average, unless otherwise specified.

Aphelion and perihelion are, respectively, a planetary orbit’s farthest and nearest points to the Sun.

All planets’ orbits are elliptical, like flattened circles, and the Sun is not in the exact center of any orbit.

When we say the Sun is the center of the solar system, we are not speaking in terms of precise location.

Related Facts

  • How Is Pluto's Orbit Around the Sun Irregular and What Is the Planet Pluto's Perihelion and Aphelion?
  • Why are the orbits of the planets in the solar system arranged in a more or less flat plane?
  • What Are the Different Types of Rings Around Saturn Called and Why Do Eccentric Rings Have Elliptical Orbits?
  • What Are Elliptical Galaxies, How Do Elliptical Galaxies Form, and Why Do They Contain Mostly Old Stars?
  • Where Did Minor Planets In Our Solar System Come From and What Are the Minor Planets Made Of?
  • What Are the Inner Planets and What Are the Names Of the Four Inner Planets In Our Solar System?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Are the Differences Between Planets and Stars and How Are Stars and Planets Similar?
Next Post: What Is a Planet’s Orbital Plane and Why Does Each Planet In the Solar System Have a Different Orbital Plane? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy