Besides, it is not a law, never has been, but only a register
of facts; and we know that truths are often discovered from similar
registers. It registers, and at the same time shows, that there is a
nearly fixed inter-relation, even proportion, in the distances of the
planets from the centre of the sun as far out as Uranus; and were we
to make a similar register, beginning at the (present) outside of the
planetary system, and registering the number of revolutions, beginning
with 1 for Neptune, rates of acceleration of revolution in number of
days, and densities of the planets, we may draw from it some useful
knowledge. But we shall first extend Bode's Law to embrace Neptune, and
show the discrepancies between the actual positions of the planets and
those pointed out by the law.
Here we see that, with the exception of the first step from Neptune
to Uranus which is only 1·9577, we have an average gradation of
acceleration of 2·5898 times, from one planet to another, from the
outermost as far in as Mars; and that had Neptune had the period
of revolution sought for by Leverrier in his discovery of that
planet, viz. 217·387 years, or 79,399·602 days, the average rate of
acceleration would have been 2·5896 times, from planet to planet,
as far in as Mars. This, we think, is pretty strong evidence that
one law of acceleration was in force from the beginning of the
separation of rings from the nebula up to the time when the ring for
Mars was separated--the departure from it in the case of Neptune,
notwithstanding--and goes far to prove that part of the nebular
hypothesis which implies that each of the planets is now revolving
round the sun in the orbit, and with the velocity, belonging to the
centre of gyration of the ring out of which it was formed. From
Mars to Venus the law--the areolar law, of course--had changed to a
variable decreasing law, as seen from the foregoing register, which
then again changed into an increasing one, till at Mercury the rate of
acceleration rose again to 2·5543 times from Venus, or very nearly the
same rate of increase that existed from Uranus to Mars. The causes of
these changes may or may not be able to be accounted for--we shall have
to return to them hereafter, in the cases of Neptune, the earth and
Venus--but there is one thing of some importance that is deducible from
the register, which we shall endeavour to make clear.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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