From: mff@hypatia.unh.edu   
      
   I_am_on_Saturn  wrote:   
   >Is Sun positioned at the center of the elliptical orbits of all the   
   >planets?   
      
        No.  It lies at one of the foci of the elliptical orbits.  To   
   describe the shape completely around the Sun, you need two numbers --   
   the nearest and farthest points, for example, or the distance across the   
   ellipse's major axis and the ellipse's eccentricity.  (Describing the   
   *position* of that shape in space is somewhat more complex.)   
      
   >If not so, what is the relative position of   
   >Sun relative to all the planets?   
      
        It's massive enough to be considered the center of mass of the entire   
   Solar System -- but it doesn't lie at the center of the elliptical   
   orbits.  The ellipses all have their perihelions (closest points to the   
   Sun) at different points around the Sun, and the planes in which they lie   
   are tilted with respect to one another.   
   --   
                                -- With Best Regards,   
                                   Matthew Funke (mff@hopper.unh.edu)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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