Planetary Distances and the Missing Planet

Abstract

Work (to be published elsewhere) leading to the formulation of The Principle of Least Interaction Action is summarized. The analysis of satellite orbits is here extended to systems with more than three satellites, and it is shown that the principle correctly predicts the major semi-axes of the five Uranian satellites and the five inner satellites of Jupiter to the precision of the known masses, allowing for the orbital eccentricities, and also the distribution of the five planets of Barnard’s Star recently recognised.

Applied to the solar system, the principle is capable of representing all of the major semi-axes of the planets Mercury through to Neptune with an accuracy of the order of 1% provided that it is assumed that a mass of 90 M _⊕ (where M _⊕ is the mass of the Earth) existed in the asteroid belt from the beginning of the solar system until 1.6 × 10⁷ yr ago, and then suddenly dissipated. A brief examination is made of the evidence from meteorites of such an event.