Note 85 — Chapter IV · Sequel to the Epoch of Newton, continued.—Verification and Completion of the Newtonian Theory.

Among the most important corrections of the supposed masses of the planets, we may notice that of Jupiter, by Professor Airy. This determination of Jupiter’s mass was founded, not on the effect as seen in perturbations, but on a much more direct datum, the time of revolution of his fourth satellite. It appeared, from this calculation, that Jupiter’s mass required to be increased by about 1⁄80th. This result agrees with that which has been derived by German astronomers from the perturbations which the attractions of Jupiter produce in the four new planets, and has been generally adopted as an improvement of the elements of our system.