Question

Suppose an asteroid had an orbit with a semimajor axis of 4 au. how long would it take for it to orbit once around the sun?

Answer 1

It would take 8 years for the asteroid to orbit once around the sun.

What is a semimajor axis?

• In geometry, the major axis of an ellipse is its longest diameter: a line segment that runs through the center and both foci, with ends at the two most widely separated points of the perimeter.
• The semi-major axis (major semiaxis) is the longest semidiameter or one half of the major axis, and thus runs from the centre, through a focus, and to the perimeter.
• The semi-major axis of a hyperbola is, depending on the convention, plus or minus one half of the distance between the two branches.
• Thus it is the distance from the center to either vertex of the hyperbola.
• In astronomy, the semi-major axis is one of the most important orbital elements of an orbit, along with its orbital period.
• For Solar System objects, the semi-major axis is related to the period of the orbit by Kepler's third law.

To know more about semi-major axis, refer:

brainly.com/question/26662489

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