Relative orbital speeds of the eight planets of the solar system

The closer a planet is to the Sun, the faster it travels. Mercury tears around at 47.4 kilometres per second. Neptune, at the far edge of the solar system, drifts at just 5.4 km/s — barely a ninth of Mercury's pace.

The animation shows all eight planets orbiting at their correct relative speeds. Mercury's pace makes Earth look sluggish. Neptune barely moves at all.

Orbits are evenly spaced for legibility. In reality, the distance ratio from Mercury to Neptune is 77:1.

Orbital speeds of the eight planetsAn animated diagram showing Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune orbiting a central Sun at their correct relative speeds. Mercury completes an orbit roughly 8.8 times faster than Neptune.

Why does speed decrease with distance?

Gravity weakens with distance. A planet further from the Sun feels a weaker pull, so it can orbit more slowly without falling inward. Closer planets feel a stronger pull and have to move faster to stay in their orbits.

Orbital speed vs distance from the Sun

The relationship isn't linear. Double a planet's distance from the Sun and its speed drops by about 1.41 times, not 2. That compression is why the gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) cluster together at the slow end of the chart, despite being spread across enormous distances.

From Mercury to Neptune, the distance ratio is roughly 77:1. The speed ratio is only about 8.8:1. The further out you go, the less each extra AU costs you in speed.

View data table
Orbital speeds of the eight planets in km/s
PlanetOrbital speed (km/s)Distance from Sun (AU)
Mercury47.40.39
Venus350.72
Earth ★29.81
Mars24.11.52
Jupiter13.15.2
Saturn9.79.58
Uranus6.819.2
Neptune5.430

★ Earth shown for reference

Data source: NASA Planetary Fact Sheets. Mean orbital velocities.