Dimensions of the elliptic orbits of the six planets

planet: mercury venus earth mars jupiter saturn
R max 69.7 109 152 249 815.7 1507
R min 45.9 107.4 147 206 740.9 1347
semi-major 57.91 108.21 149.6 227.94 778.34 1427.01
eccentricity 0.2056306 0.0067826 0.0167175 0.0933865 0.0484641 0.0556125

R max = maximum distance planet to sun, in millions of kilometers (Mkm)
R min = minimum distance planet to sun, in Mkm
semi-major = semi-major axis of ellipse (a = R max + R min / 2), in Mkm
eccentricity (e = c/a, where c = R max - R min / 2)

This data on the dimensions, R-max and R-min in Mkm, is taken from (Moore/Hunt, 1983),
and the eccentricity calculated therefrom. More accurate values of e are given on another page.



Revised 11 jan 2002 by ralph abraham