Where is the center of mass of the solar system?

Question

Levi Anderson · Accepted Answer

Within about 2 solar radii of the center of the sun.

Since the sun contains 99.8% of the total mass in our solar system—which also includes eight planets and their moons—as well as a number of asteroids and comets, we should anticipate that the center of mass, or center of mass, will be particularly near to the sun. The center of mass is not exactly known, but we can estimate its maximum separation from the sun's center. This is because the planets themselves move, causing the center of mass to move along with them. If all of the planets were to line up, each planet would pull the center of mass a little bit farther toward itself, and a little bit farther away from the center of the sun. The center of mass formula tells us that the center of mass location, #x_c#, for a series of #n# objects can be found by; #x_c = (m_1 x_1 + m_2 x_2 + m_3 x_3 + ... + m_n x_n)/(m_1 + m_2 + m_3 + ... + m_n) = (sum_1^n m_i x_i)/(sum_1^n m_i)# If we set the sun at #x=0# and use the average distance of the planets from the sun, we can approximate the center of mass of the solar system if all of the planets were to align. This would be the farthest the center of mass would move. Plugging in the masses of the sun and planets, found here , and their average distance to the sun, found here , we get a center of mass of a little over twice the radius of the sun. The center of mass should normally be found inside the sun, as the planets will never truly align in this manner and are instead dispersed throughout the solar surface, exerting gravitational pull on one another.

Layla Anderson · Answer

undefined The center of mass of the solar system, also known as the barycenter, is located very close to the center of the Sun, but not exactly at the center due to the gravitational influence of the planets and other celestial bodies orbiting around it.