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How would you find the perihelion distance of Mars?

Answer 1

Both perihelion and aphelion distances can be computed from semi.-major axis a and eccentricity e of Mars elliptic orbit. They are a(1 - e) and a(1 + e)

a = 1.52 AU and e = 0.09, so perihelion = 1.38 AU and aphelion = 1.66 AU, approximately, rounded to three significant digits (sd). The distance unit AU = 'a' for Earth. For more sd in the values, 'a' and 'e' for Mars should be in that many or more sd.

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Answer 2

Luke Allen

Astronomical databases can be used to determine Mars' perihelion distance, which is the closest distance that separates Mars from the Sun during its orbit.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.