Kari Mueller

Astronomy PHY 208

Determining the Mass of Jupiter Based on the Orbital Characteristics of the Galilean Moons
Introduction
The Universe consists of planets, stars, and galaxies. In todays world, it is common
for people to continue their day without truly seeing the world around them. Some people
plan their days and look to their futures, one thing people dont usually do is take a minute
to look up in the sky see the sun, moon, stars or planets and ask why is the universe how it
is? Many of us dont even understand the vastness of the cosmos. We are so focused on the
now and what we can see in front of us. Fortunately for us some people did ask why? not
only did they ask, but they sought out the answer. Kepler studied the stars for a long time
trying to figure out how the universe worked. Each night he observed the planets and
eventually he came up with a proportion explaining the orbit. The paths the celestial bodies
followed were not a perfect circle but elliptical orbits. The proportion he discovered was the
cube of the semi-major axis of a planets orbit to the square of its orbital period around the

sun is the same for each planet. This is mathematically shown as

a3
2
P .

Kepler came up with this ratio but he was unable to explain why the theory worked.
Later in history Newton was studying the physics of motion. Newton took the sun as the
force responsible for the motion of our planets and showed how Keplers second law is true
because of the gravitation force being acted upon all objects by the sun. Sir Isaac Newton
took Keplers third law and created a new theory which was Newtons generalization of

a3
G
Keplers third law. This is mathematically written as P2 = 4 2 (m 1+ m2 ) . By applying the
modified law to the universe we should be able to calculate the mass of any planetary body
we choose. By observing Jupiter and its moons we will find the period and semi-major axis
and calculate the mass of Jupiter. By doing this we can expect to find a number similar to
what is already accepted as the mass of Jupiter. If we do find similar masses we can
conclude that our data supports Newtons law.
Methods

By using the equations newton derived we are going to observe the semi-major axis
(a) and the period of Jupiters moons (p) by using a program called Jupiters moons. By
measuring the farthest distance away from Jupiter we can approximate 2a and divide by 2 to
get the semi-major axis (a) (See Figure 1) which is the average difference from the object
being orbited. To compute the actual distance we convert pixels into km and/or au for the
equation. For the period (p) we will simply observe the Julian date at the beginning and
subtract the date at the ending to approximate the total period.

Figure 1.
From these approximations we will then calculate that they are equal to the righthand side of the equation where there are only constants and masses If the mass of one
body, such as m1, is much larger than the other, then (

m1+ m2 ) is nearly equal to m1. The

remaining numbers in the equation are constants or are so small they do not influence the
outcome. By using math we will be able to calculate the mass and compare it to the actual
approximations of Jupiter. The number calculated should be within a reasonable distance of
the actual mass and thus support Keplers law of planetary motion.

Results & Discussion:

The following table is the observations made recorded and converted for use in the
equation.

Moon

Semi-major

Semi-major

Period

Period

Mass of

axis (km)

axis (AU)(a)

(days) (p)

(years) (p)

Jupiter

(a)
(kg)
Callisto
Ganymede
Europa
Io
Actual mass of

1,793,908
.0120
16.6
1,082,724
.0072
7.1
668,329
.0045
3.5
427,103
.0029
1.8
Jupiter 1.89813 1027 kilograms

mass of the sun=1.989 E 30

a3 m 1+ m2
= sun
p2
m

.045
.019
.009
.005

1.69E27
2.05E27
2.23E27
1.94E27
Average
1.97E27
STDEV
2.26E26

The actual mass of Jupiter is 1.89813E27 kg compared to the calculated average

mass of 1.97E27 kg these numbers are a lot different in kg but in terms of the universe and
in the accuracy measured by our program the calculation is reasonable and within .35
standard deviations of the actual mass. The standard deviation is a reasonable method in
determining whether or not our measurement is acceptable. It determines how spread out
measurements are in comparison to the actual. Then by averaging our spread of numbers to
obtain a more accurate calculation we can determine how acceptable that calculation is in
comparison to the actual. If the comparison shows that it is a lot of standard deviations away
from the actual it tells us that this calculation is unlikely and unreliable. However our
averaged mean for the mass of Jupiter was only .35 standard deviations away from the
actual indicating the prediction is dependable. Therefore, by observing the (a) and (p) of
Jupiters moons we attested to the validity of Newtons Generalizations of Keplers 3 rd Law. In
other words, It worked!
The Jupiter moons program was created to observe and mimic the behavior of Jupiter.
However the program has limitations. The conversion of pixels to kilograms is limited by the
accuracy of our visual placement and resolution quality of the program. A secondary

limitation was the amount of zoom allowed for each moon. Calisto measurements had to be
made at the outermost visual frame increasing the amount of error. Error was increased here
because there is more distance to cram into the same amount of pixels to measure that
distance then for a closer moon.

Conclusion
In conclusion our observations using Jupiters moons program do support Newtons
generalization of Keplers 3rd law of the motions of the universe. Keplers laws gave us
descriptions of motion which he arrived at by trial and error. Kepler asked a question,
pursued knowledge, tested questions, built upon that knowledge with evidence but, could
not find the answer. Later newton stepped in where Kepler left off and built upon his ideas
by applying the law of motion and gravitation thus explaining why it worked. Adding these
discoveries together Newton gave us immense predictive power to explore the universe
with. By observing and gathering recordings of the semi-major axis and the periods of
Jupiters moons, Newtons equation worked and calculated a reasonable mass of Jupiter
within 1 standard deviation of the actual. This discovery gave us great and unimaginable
new powers to study the universe and astronomers today will continue to repeat and build
upon these discoveries and models.
Works Cited
Koupelis, Theo. In Quest of the Universe 6th edition .Canada: J