As in, what formula or equation do they use?
2007-10-11 13:36:24 · 2 answers · asked by aleriacarventus 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
By observing their gravitational interaction(s) with other objects. If you need the formulas, go look up Newtons Laws of Motion and Kepplers Laws of Motion.
Doug
2007-10-11 14:10:31 · answer #1 · answered by doug_donaghue 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Basically, the laws of motion give that a particular orbital path at a particular speed requires a particular mass of the orbiting body. They can observe any two of these values and compute the unknown.
The real-world formulas are much more complicated than a simple "distance = rate * time" sort of affair because reality takes a lot more variables into consideration, but that's the general gist of it.
2007-10-11 15:03:08 · answer #2 · answered by ZeroByte 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋