- #1
bbbl67
- 212
- 21
So I'm getting somewhat weird numbers when trying to calculate the solar irradiance at each planet. Starting with a baseline of irradiance at Earth of 1376 W/m^2, I use the inverse square law against distance. I find the values for Mercury and Mars are really off, while Venus & Neptune are almost right on the money! What's wrong with my method?
mars average orbital radius - Wolfram|Alpha
solar flux at uranus - Wolfram|Alpha
- Planet: calculated value (W/m2), actual value (W/m2), percent diff
- Mercury: 9183, 6283, 46.15%
- Venus: 2630, 2600, 1.15%
- Mars: 592.7, 710.6, 19.89%
- Jupiter: 50.82, 47.42, 6.69%
- Saturn: 15.128245, 13.51, 10.70%
- Uranus: 3.736, 3.465, 7.25%
- Neptune: 1.522, 1.526, 0.27%
mars average orbital radius - Wolfram|Alpha
solar flux at uranus - Wolfram|Alpha