The perihelion and aphelion are the points on the orbit closest to and farthest from the sun, respectively (Figure 8). The distance from the sun at the perihelion is denoted r_per and the speed at this point is denoted v_per. Similarly, we write r_ap and v_ap for the distance and speed at the aphelion. The semimajor axis is denoted a.

Compute r_per and r_ap for the orbit of Mercury, which has eccentricity e = 0.244 (see the table in Exercise 1 for the semimajor axis).

Transcribed Image Text:

Aphelion Vap F2 r y F Vper a Semimajor axis X Perihelion