Water vapour detected on alien world

http://space.newscientist.com/articl...ter-found-on-a
n-alien-world.html

Water has been detected in the atmosphere of an alien world
for the first time, a new analysis of Hubble Space Telescope data suggests.
Some scientists applaud the result - which had been predicted theoretically
but not observed in previous studies, while others say the apparent water
signal may simply be instrumental noise.
The planet, called HD 209458b, is about 70% as massive as
Jupiter and is scorched by the heat of its parent star, which it orbits 9
times as close as Mercury does to the Sun.

N Cook wrote or quoted:

... which it orbits 9
times as close as Mercury does to the Sun.

Nine times as close is a weird construct. Does it mean at one ninth the
distance?

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