4.Discussion

From the data we have collected from,we have found out that it was possible to find out the mass Jupiter’s mass we have found that it was possible to find Jupiter’s mass following the necessary steps which is in the methods section.

Well we could have improved on a lot of things. First of all being our methods. Access to higher quality instruments and equipment would greatly improve our accuracy and overall reliability of our research, bring about a general improvement in quality. Aside from that, having more manpower for continuous tracking of Jupiter would give us more data to work with, allow our research to be more accurate. Our margin of error would be able to decrease. We can also compare our data to data collected by other space agencies, like NASA and other same types of project. If our research data matches theirs, our data is consistent with what others have collected, adding credibility to our research. If not, there is an error in our research.  

This would help other projects that need the mass of an object in space, as long it has another object orbiting it. This is because our method of observing and calculating using Kepler’s Laws can apply to any other object in space,  as long as it can be seen by the telescope and it should have another object such as a moon in the hold of the gravitational field circling the object (the more moons there are, the easier our task will be).


Using this method we can find the mass of various objects, including the sun and other stars. But to be more reliable we should take calculation of the other obbects circling the object.

The weight (or the mass) of a planet is determined by its gravitational effect on other bodies. Newton's Law of Gravitation states that every bit of matter in the universe attracts every other with a gravitational force that is proportional to its mass. For objects of the size we encounter in everyday life, this force is so minuscule that we don't notice it. However for objects the size of planets or stars, it is of great importance.

In order to use gravity to find the mass of a planet, we must somehow measure the strength of its "tug" on another object. If the planet in question has a moon (a natural satellite), then nature has already done the work for us. By observing the time it takes for the satellite to orbit its primary planet, we can utilize Newton's equations to infer what the mass of the planet must be.

For planets without observable natural satellites, we must be more clever. Although Mercury and Venus (for example) do not have moons, they do exert a small pull on one another, and on the other planets of the solar system. As a result, the planets follow paths that are subtly different than they would be without this perturbing effect. Although the mathematics is a bit more difficult, and the uncertainties are greater, astronomers can use these small deviations to determine how massive the moonless planets are