A vector is a mathematical construct that has magnitude and direction. The cross product of two vectors is a binary operation in three-dimensional space that results in a third vector that is ...
In the present situation, both Earth and Mars are moving in the same direction around the Sun, but the slower one, Mars, appears to move backwards compared to the faster one, Earth. Just an illusion. The retrograde motion of Mars â like the apparent motion of the slower car on the highway â is nothing more than an illusion.
ORBIT AND ROTATION ON PLANET MARS. Mars' average distance from the Sun is roughly 230 million km (1.5 AU) and its orbital period is 687 (Earth) days.The solar day (or sol) on Mars is only slightly longer than an Earth day: 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds. A Martian year is equal to 1.8809 Earth years, or 1 year, 320 days, and 18.2 hours.owever, Mars also has a much longer cycle of eccentricity with a period of 2.2 million Earth years, and this overshadows the 96,000 year cycle in the eccentricity graphs. For the last 35,000 years Mars' orbit has been getting slightly more eccentric because of the gravitational effects of the other planets.