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the_fungible_man t1_j1otz3y wrote

Reply to comment by Double_Trust6266 in What determines the space between two planets? by TinyDayDreamer0

This is not correct on several levels.

The mass of the Earth is constantly changing:

  • Atmospheric loss: -100000 tons/year.
  • Micrometeoroids: +50000 tons/year.

This net mass loss has no measurable effect on the shape of the Earth's orbit. However, the continuous mass loss of the Sun (5 million tons/sec via fusion and the solar wind) does mean the Earth's orbit grows ever so slightly more distant from year to year.

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