IV. Period Determinations

A. Why

The orbital period of a satellite/moon or planet is a fundamental parameter that is used to describe the relation of one object to another. The orbit period is a quantifiable parameter that may be precisely transmitted to others.

B. Predictions of positions

Because the orbital period may be determined with a high degree of accuracy – how much accuracy is dependent on the skill of the observer, the amount of time devoted to the task and the quality and type of equipment available – future positions of the object observed may be made with good confidence. This predictive capability is expected to be examined in a future AAAA project, to derive interesting conclusions.

C. The Period and its Relation to the Mass of the Planet

When the period of an orbiting body is known, then Kepler’s Third Law (more later) and Newton’s Law of Gravitation may be combined to enable one to calculate the mass of the body being orbited. Part of Project Jupiter is to perform those calculations.

D. What about other Planets?

While Project Jupiter is designed around the planet Jupiter, the technique is general to orbiting bodies (6) . Its application to any planet that has a satellite (including Earth) will yield corresponding information about the planet being orbited. The application to some planets may be limited by the ability of the telescope to resolve the satellite-planet spacing, or be constrained by the limiting magnitude of the telescope system in use.