Titius-Bode Law
Gregory first expounded on this relationship in 1715.
Bode added additional insight 1772.
Write down first 0, then 3, and keep doubling the previous number: 6, 12, 24, 48 etc. Now add 4 to each number to get the series 4, 7, 10, 16, 28 and so on. Then divide each number by 10. The result .4, .7, 1.0, etc. give the approximate radii of the planetary orbits in astronomical units.
| Planet | Distance | Distance
|
Bode's Law | Actual | Mean
|
| Mercury | .4 | .39 |
| Venus | .7 | .72 |
| Earth | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Mars | 1.6 | 1.52 |
| Asteroids | 2.8 | - |
| Jupiter | 5.2 | 5.2 |
| Saturn | 10.0 | 9.54 |
| Uranus | 19.6 | 19.2 |
| Neptune | 38.8 | 30.6 |
| Pluto | 77.2 | 39.4 |
See Also