How to fix 'invalid character in identifier' when calling a function

Question

I made a function that can calculate the mass of a planet in python.

from math import pi
from scipy.constants import gravitational_constant as g


def planet_mass(dist, t):
    vel = (2 * pi * dist) / t
    return (vel**2) * dist / g

But calling the function with some specific parameters gives an error.

>>> planet_mass(‎149597870700,365.25*24*60*60)
  File "<stdin>", line 1
    planet_mass(‎149597870700,365.25*24*60*60)
                            ^
SyntaxError: invalid character in identifier

However, calling the function with other parameters like (10000,100000) seems to work fine.

>>> planet_mass(10000,100000)
59151849549836.72

I am using Sublime text 3 and SublimeREPL to run python. How can I fix this problem?

Answer 1

Cut & paste your code with a less forgiving editor, and you'll see the superfluous character in your call:

planet_mass(<200e>149597870700,365.25*24*60*60)

This is a non-printing character in many rendering paradigms, but shows up clearly in vi. Just delete that character and you'll be fine.