DOC. 14
EINSTEIN AND BESSO MANUSCRIPT
423
[p.
31] (Besso)
[137][P.
31]
is
the
verso
of
[p.
30].
Besso
presumably
used the back of
[p.
30]
after Einstein
sent
him
the
manuscript
in 1914
(see
the editorial
note,
"The Einstein-Besso
Manuscript
on
the
Motion of the Perihelion of
Mercury," sec. III).
[138]The
key
to understanding
[p. 31]
is
the
reference "Newcomb S. 127"
given
for
the "Präzes-
sionsconstante P." The reference
is
to
Newcomb 1895,
p.
127. This book offers
a
detailed
discussion of
the
analysis
carried
out
by
Newcomb in
constructing
new
tables
for
the
four inner
planets published
that
same
year
(for
a
discussion
of
this
book,
see
Roseveare
1982, pp.
44-
67).
The
project
outlined
on
[p.
31]
under the
heading
"Plan"
is to
make certain corrections
to
Newcomb's
analysis on
the basis of the "Entwurf"
theory.
More
specifically,
the
project
is to
find
the corrections
to
the values for solar
parallax
and for the
planetary masses coming
from
two
effects
predicted
by
the "Entwurf"
theory,
namely,
the
bending
of
light
and the
motion of
nodes caused
by
the rotation of the
sun
(detailed
calculations for the latter effect
can
be
found
on
[pp.
45-49];
see
the editorial
note,
"The Einstein-Besso
Manuscript
on
the Motion of the
Perihelion of
Mercury," sec.
II.3).
[139]As
part
of the
project
outlined above
(see
note
138),
the
question
is
raised whether the
bending
of
light predicted by
the "Entwurf"
theory can
be
used
to
explain
the
discrepancy
between the results of
two
related methods
to
determine solar
parallax
from observations of
transits of
Venus.
The different methods
to
determine solar
parallax
mentioned
on [p. 31]
and
the results that
are given
can
all be
found
in
a
table
on p.
157
of
Newcomb 1895
under the header:
"Results
of
determinations
of
the
solar
parallax arranged
in
the order
of
magnitude"
(this
table
is
reproduced
and discussed
in
Roseveare
1982,
pp.
57-63).
The table
gives
nine different
results,
five
of
which-with
rounded-off
numbers-can
be found
on
[p. 31].
The relevant entries
are,
in
the order
in
which
they
appear
on [p. 31]:
8.794" ± .018"
(from
observations of
contacts
during
transits of
Venus),
8.857" ± .023"
(from
measurements
of
the
distance of
Venus
from the
sun's
center
during transits),
8.793"
±
.0046"
(from
Pulkowa determinations of
the constant
of
aberration),
8.806" ± .0056"
(from
determinations of
the constant
of aberration made elsewhere
than
at
Pulkowa),
8.759" ± .010"
(from
the
mass
of
the Earth
resulting
from the secular
variations
of the orbits of the four inner
planets).
Contacts
are
the
moments when Venus
touches the rim
of the
sun during
a
transit. Pulkowa
or
Pulkovo
is
an
observatory
near
St.
Petersburg.
From
the relative
weights
Newcomb
assigned
to
the nine results listed
in his table, it is
clear that
he
considered the method based
on
the determination of the
constant
of aberration
to be
the
most
reliable method.
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