Why do the planets in our solar system rotate and revolve around the sun at different speeds?
The planets orbit (revolve) around the Sun at different speeds because at their different distances from the Sun, the Sun’s gravitational pull is different: the farther from the Sun, the weaker its gravitational tug on the planets and other objects. The stronger the Sun’s gravitational pull on a planet, the faster that planet has to move to avoid falling into the Sun. Mr. Ben Burress Science Content Developer Chabot Space & Science Center QUESTION: How hot is the sun as you know it and how round is the sun ANSWER: The sun’s surface is about 5800 degrees Celsius. Sunspots are around 4800 degrees Celsius. The Corona is several million degrees! The Sun is not quite round. Because it is spinning (27 days), the distance around the equator is a little larger than the distance from pole to pole across the equator, but only by a small amount. Dr.
