![]() ![]() The official calculation is based on “k”, a constant based on the estimated constant mass of the Sun. But the mass of the Sun ain’t constant.Īs mass is lost via the solar wind and radiation (radiation energy will carry mass from the Sun due to the energy-mass relationship defined by Einstein’s E=mc 2), the value of the Astronomical Unit will increase, and by its definition, the orbit of the planets should also increase. Mars has an average orbit of 1.5AU, Mercury has an average of about 0.4AU… But how is the distance of one AU defined? Most commonly thought to be derived as the mean distance of the Sun-Earth orbit, it is actually officially defined as: the radius of an unperturbed circular orbit that a massless body would revolve about the Sun in 2Ï€/k days (that’s one year). For instance, one AU is approximately the mean distance from the Sun to Earth orbit (defined as 149,597,870.691 kilometres). ![]() The AU is commonly used to describe distances within the Solar System. So, when using the Astronomical Unit (AU), problems will begin to surface in astronomical calculations as this “universal constant” is based on the mass of the Sun… However small the mass loss, the mass of the Sun is not constant. This may seem like a lot, but when compared with the total mass of the Sun (of nearly 2Ã-10 30 kilograms), this rate of mass loss is miniscule. As the burning giant begins a new solar cycle, it continues to lose about 6 billion kilograms (that’s approximately 16 Empire State Building’s worth) of mass per second. Our closest star is shedding material through the solar wind, coronal mass ejections and by simply generating light. ![]()
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