Abstract
THE ORDER OF THE PLANETS.—In the oldest cunei-form inscriptions the planets are given in the order, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Mercury, Mars (vide “Encycl. Brit.,” eleventh edition, vol. ii., p. 796, “Astrology”). Dr. Herbert Chatley writes from Shanghai to point out that if we calculate the total gravitational force between the sun and each planet (viz. product of masses ÷ square of distance) we obtain results which in order of magnitude agree with, the list above. With the latest values of the planetary masses the numbers are:—
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Our Astronomical Column . Nature 103, 10 (1919). https://doi.org/10.1038/103010a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/103010a0