PLANET'S NAME. Epoch, Mean Time. (G), Greenwich. (B), Berlin. ELEMENTS OF THE MINOR PLANETS, OR ASTEROIDS. Mean Longitude Longitude of the Longitude of the Inclination to the Sid. Revolution Mean Distance at the Epoch. Perihelion. Ascending Node. Ecliptic. in M. S. Days. from the Sun. Eccentricity. Sidereal revolutions of the satellites, and their mean distances from the planets about which they revolve. The distances are expressed in terms of the equatorial radius of the planet. Masses and densities of the sun and planets, the mass of the sun and density of the earth being each assumed = 1. Denoting the earth's mass by a unit, the moon's mass is about , and her density about 0.615. Remark. The masses of the planets given above, except that of Neptune, are taken from a table in the Astr. Nach. No. 443. That of Mercury has been very recently obtained by Prof. Encke, from the effects of this planet in disturbing the motion of the comet which bears his name. APPENDIX TO PART I. TRIGONOMETRICAL FORMULA. A NUMBER of the formulæ included in the following collection are used in the present work. The demonstrations may be found in any good work on Trigonometry.* They are introduced here, and numbered in order to facilitate the references. From a single arc or angle a, the radius being 1. For two arcs a and b of which a is supposed to be the greater. * The best treatise upon that subject, in our language, is that by Chauvenet, recently published. |