Academic English Skills with Dr. Byrnes

  Bode’s Law and the Discovery of the Asteroid Belt Lecture Main Idea A simple mathematical pattern, known as Bode’s Law , helped astronomers predict where planets should be located. This pattern eventually led to the discovery of the asteroid belt . The Mathematical Pattern Start with a sequence of numbers by doubling each step. Add 4 to each number. Divide by 10. This produces the sequence: 0.4 0.7 1.0 1.6 2.8 5.2 10.0 19.6 Match with Planetary Distances The numbers closely matched the known distances of planets from the Sun (measured in Astronomical Units, AU ). Known planets such as: Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn all fit the pattern surprisingly well. What Is Bode’s Law? Bode’s Law is not a true scientific law . Unlike Newton’s laws, it: Does not explain why planets are located where they are. Provides no physical mechanism. It is essentially a numerical pattern or coincidence. The Problem: A Missing Planet Mars matched the value 1.6 AU . The next predicted position w...