• Question: Are the other planets coming closer and closer to the earth (i saw it on t.v)

    Asked by hlh606 to Laura, Lily, Mark, Paul, Sarah on 23 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Paul Roche

      Paul Roche answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      Well all the planets are constantly moving around the Sun, so they get closer and further away from each other at different times of the year. The gravitational pull of the Sun is what determine show planets move, and the Sun is getting lighter by about 4 million tonnes per second – that is the mass lost as the Sun’s nuclear core burns Hydrogen and makes Helium.

      So if the Sun is getting lighter, it’s gravity is getting weaker, so th eplanets are slowly drifting further away from it, and so probably getting a bit further apart – so I’m not sure where you saw something about them getting closer?

      There are asteroids and comets that can come close to (and even hit) the planets – maybe it was that?

    • Photo: Lily Asquith

      Lily Asquith answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      No. What TV told you that?

    • Photo: Mark Roberts

      Mark Roberts answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      Not that I know of – but I’m not an astronomer – hopefully Paul can answer this question

    • Photo: Sarah Bardsley

      Sarah Bardsley answered on 23 Jun 2010:

      At certain points in time, because of the trajectory of the planets and the fact their orbit is an oval shape they will get closer and further away.

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