The Solar System is a vast and fascinating universe that is home to a variety of celestial bodies, from planets to asteroids and comets. Each of these bodies has its own motion in orbit around the Sun, and this gives them characteristic speeds.
The planets do not move at the same speed in their orbits. This variation is due to Kepler’s Law of planetary motion and the distance of each planet from the Sun. Kepler’s law states that planets closer to the Sun move at higher speeds than planets further away.
Below, with information from Teach me about Sciencewe detail the speed of the planets in the Solar System.
Approximate velocities of the planets in the Solar System
- Mercury: This is the closest planet to the Sun and also the fastest. Mercury moves at an average speed of approximately 47.87 kilometers per second (km/s) in its orbit.
- Venus: Venus, Earth’s twin in terms of size, travels at an average speed of around 35.02 km/s in its orbit.
- Land: Our planet moves at an average speed of approximately 29.78 km/s in its orbit around the Sun.
- Mars: Mars, the “Red Planet”, has an average speed of approximately 24,077 km/s in its orbit.
- Jupiter: As the largest planet in the Solar System, Jupiter moves at an average speed of approximately 13.07 km/s in its orbit.
- Saturn: Saturn, famous for its rings, travels at an average speed of about 9.68 km/s in its orbit.
- Uranus: Uranus has an average speed of approximately 6.8 km/s in its orbit.
- Neptune: Neptune, the most distant planet in the Solar System, moves at an average speed of approximately 5.43 km/s in its orbit.
These speeds are averages and can vary slightly throughout the orbit of each planet due to the elliptical shape of their orbits. The units used, kilometers per second (km/s), are common in astronomy due to the enormous distances in space.