The discussion clarifies that it is not possible to form a 90-degree angle between Earth, Mars, and the Sun with Mars as the vertex. Given that Mars orbits the Sun in a nearly circular path, any line drawn from the Sun to Mars will be tangent to Mars's orbit, preventing intersection with Earth's orbit, which also circles the Sun. This geometric relationship confirms that the two orbits cannot create a 90-degree angle at Mars.
PREREQUISITESAstronomy students, educators, and anyone interested in understanding the relationships between celestial bodies and their orbits.
Thank you!Charles Link said:If you are saying to put Mars at the 90 degree vertex, I think the answer is no. If you draw a line from the sun to Mars, and remembering that Mars is in a nearly circular orbit farther out from Earth's nearly circular orbit, the 90 degree direction, either way from Mars, will be tangent to the path of the circular orbit of Mars, and can't possibly intersect Earth's orbit, which is a circle with the same center (the sun) as the orbit of Mars. ## \\ ## I'm going to assume this is not a homework problem=homework problems need to go in the homework section, and the OP is required to fill out the homework template...