New answers tagged astronomy
5
The main calculation in practical astronomy is solving a spherical triangle, from three elements one wants to find the rest, using formulas of spherical trigonometry.
This calculation is always performed when
for example one transfers between the coordinate systems.
Positions of celestial bodies are usually described in ecliptic coordinates, while ...
0
It is possible that some persons here might not understand the scale of deviations in the answers, So I decided to post an answer myself using the data from the two answers so far to explain the scale a little bit more.
The answer by Ben Crowell makes a rough calculation that the displacement should be on the order of ten arc seconds. It also has a plot of ...
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This topic is extensively discussed by astronomer, historian, and Marxist theorist Anton Pannekoek in his 1961 book A History of Astronomy on pp. 359-363 and his 1953 article "The Discovery of Neptune".
As he explains, the deviation in the calculated orbit and the observed orbit was 30" in 1835 and 70" by 1840.
LeVerrier and Adams both ...
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Starting off with a crude order-of-magnitude estimate, the anomalous acceleration of Uranus ($m_1$) due to Neptune ($m_2$) should be on the order of $Gm_1m_2/a^2$, where $a$, a scale for the distance between the two planets, can be taken to equal the radius of Uranus's orbit. The secular trend probably vanishes, so let's take the time of interaction to be on ...
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