Home > Astronomy > Components of the Solar System

What would the orbit pattern be if the sun and planets orbited the earth?

Answer 1

It is not possible for the Sun and other planets to orbit the Earth.

Although bodies do not truly orbit one another, when multiple bodies—like the Sun and planets—move in unison under the force of gravity, they all revolve around the barycenter, which is the center of mass of all the bodies.

The Sun and all of the planets orbit around the solar system barycentre, which is located slightly below and occasionally above the surface of the Sun. The solar system barycentre is always in motion.

For the Sun and other planets to orbit the Earth, Earth would need to be at the barycentre. However, there is no way it could stay at the barycentre because the Sun's gravity would immediately accelerate it away at over #270ms^(-2)#.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer 2

Hailey Alexander

If the Earth were the center of the solar system, the current heliocentric model in which planets orbit the Sun would give way to a geocentric model in which the Earth is the center of the solar system, resulting in far more complicated and irregular orbit patterns for the Sun and planets.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

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.