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> Saturn is 1.2 billion km, roughly 7 AU That's a unit conversion error. 1.2 billion / 150 million is 8, not 7.
by Denvercoder9 5y ago
> Saturn is 1.2 billion km, roughly 7 AU
That's a unit conversion error. 1.2 billion / 150 million is 8, not 7.
- jakeinspace 5y agoI believe the 1.2B km was referencing mean orbital distance from the sun, which would be 8 AU, and therefore 7 AU from earth on closest approach.
- Denvercoder9 5y agoNo. Saturn's perihelion (closest distance to the Sun) is 1.35B km (9.0 AU), its aphelion (furthest distance) is 1.51B km (10.1 AU), and its mean distance is 1.43B km (9.6 AU). Thus, at closest approach Saturn is 8 AU from Earth (since Earth orbits at an almost-constant 1 AU from the Sun).
- jakeinspace 5y agoAfter checking Wikipedia, you are correct.