Gaussian year

Carl Friedrich Gauss

A Gaussian year is defined as 365.2568983 days. ^[1] It was adopted by Carl Friedrich Gauss as the length of the sidereal year in his studies of the dynamics of the Solar System. A slightly different value is now accepted as the length of the sidereal year, ^[2] and the value accepted by Gauss is given a special name.

A particle of negligible mass, that orbits a body of 1 solar mass in this period, has a mean axis for its orbit of 1 astronomical unit by definition. The value is derived from Kepler's third law as

${\displaystyle {\mbox{1 Gaussian year}}={\frac {2\pi }{k}}\,}$

where

k is the Gaussian gravitational constant. ^[3]

See also

• Astronomical unit
• Gregorian year
• List of years
• List of calendars
• Orders of magnitude (time)

References

1. Standish, E. M. (2004-06-01). "The Astronomical Unit now". Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union. 2004 (IAUC196): 163–179. doi: 10.1017/S1743921305001365 . ISSN   1743-9221.
2. Chamberlin, Alan. "Astrodynamic Constants". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
3. Herrick, S.; Baker, R. M. L. Jr.; Hilton, C. G. (1958-01-01). "Gravitational and Related Constants for Accurate Space Navigation". In Hecht, F. (ed.). VIIIth International Astronautical Congress Barcelona 1957 / VIII. Internationaler Astronautischer Kongress / VIIIe Congrès International d'Astronautique. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 197–235. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-39990-3_17. ISBN   9783662390207.