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Astrobasic / Re: getradii and getplanet
« on: April 18, 2022, 08:37:49 PM »
Here is the final output - table and graph.
On the graph, the horizontal bars mark the point, in % terms, where the median value in AU lies for each planet. The median value is the distance in astronomical units that lies at the point at which the planet spends 50% of its orbit between perigee and the median value, and 50% of its orbit between the median value and apogee. You will see that the median value in AU is often more than the average value (the midpoint in distance between apogee and perigee). This is because orbits are not circular, the planets do not orbit around the Earth, and the apparent speed of the planet is not regular.
Thanks. Ed
On the graph, the horizontal bars mark the point, in % terms, where the median value in AU lies for each planet. The median value is the distance in astronomical units that lies at the point at which the planet spends 50% of its orbit between perigee and the median value, and 50% of its orbit between the median value and apogee. You will see that the median value in AU is often more than the average value (the midpoint in distance between apogee and perigee). This is because orbits are not circular, the planets do not orbit around the Earth, and the apparent speed of the planet is not regular.
Thanks. Ed