Orbit Speed of the Earth
For many years it was believed the Earth was the center of the Universe. Alas, this was disproved for a number of reasons including the fact there was an orbit speed of the Earth.
Orbit Speed of the Earth
Once our egotistical view of being the center of the universe was disproved, the goal of figuring out the orbit speed of the Earth came front and center. These days, the rather interesting answer is there are three orbit speeds. No, the planet doesn’t move at different speeds. It is more a matter of perspective and how we define speed. The issue comes down to whether we measure the orbit as a matter of time or pure movement.
The orbit speed of the Earth is defined three ways. The sidereal methodology calculates the orbit speed for one revolution around the sun in relation to the sun and stars and is a measure of time. The tropical year is also a measure of time, but refers to how long it takes one point on the earth to make a revolution around the sun between two equinoxes. Finally, the orbit speed can also be calculated in good old miles per hour.
While we consider a day to be 24 hours, it is actually a bit less because the Earth is moving through space according to the sidereal methodology. In relation to the stars, a concept known as solar time, this means a day is actually 3 minutes and 56 shorter than we think. As a result, the orbit speed of the earth using the sidereal method is 364 days, 2 hours and 1 minute to complete one revolution around the sun.
The tropical year methodology arrives at a different time measurement for the orbit speed of the Earth. This is due to the fact that the movement of the Earth through space in relation to celestial bodies other than the Sun is discounted. In tropical year methodology, the orbit speed is 365.24 days.
The final method for calculating the orbit speed of the Earth is pure forward momentum. Man has built some extremely fast machines in his time, but nothing matches the hot rod known as the Earth. The orbit speed of the Earth as it moves through space is approximately 67,000 miles per hour.
