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MATHEMATICS IA
PLOTTING LOG GRAPHS OF PLANETARY PATTERNS
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I. Introduction:

Ever since my parents got me my first encyclopaedia, I spent most time reading and rereading chapters about
our solar system, the planets and space overall. As I later found out, astronomy is the science that connected all
of the interesting topics together. Reading about it and learning new facts about anything related to astronomy
became my hobby, and as I got older, I have started looking into Steven Hawking’s works about space. I read
essay after essay, and started doing more research about other existing theories that may or may not have been
proven. One day I encountered an article about the linear patterns of the planets in relation its orbital centre if
the variables of AU and the log of the value would be presented on a graph. Later on, I read more about this
phenomenon, and found out the name to be Titus - Bode theory. This theory was discovered by two
astronomers, Titus and Bode, in the late 1760s and early 1770s. What is absolutely astonishing is the fact, that
after the discovery of this pattern, no one is able to explain it to this day. There is a lot of information regarding
the relationship between the planets of the Solar System and the Sun, however the theory states, that this rule
applies to all planetary entities, which have a moon. Therefore, the aim of my Internal Assessment is to find
whether there is the same pattern of positive linear relationships between the AU (distance between the
planetary entities) and the log of the value seen in the planets and their moons respectively.
Log Graphs to Plot Planetary Patterns
The Titius-Bode relation is an empirical statement 1 which suggests a pattern of a linear positive correlation of
how far the planetary entities are from each other by using the log of each distance in astronomical units (AU).

Interestingly, unless one can find an explanation to this relationship in physics, it is a challenge to assign any
meaning to the relationship. For a very long time, the Titius-Bode rule was accepted as the way that solar
systems formed its orbits and regulated the distances between them, however to this day there is no explanation
to the rule in physics or any other field of science. The rule itself was very convincing, since via its application
one could predict the locations of all of the known planets at that time being Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,
Jupiter, and Saturn. Even planetary entities, which are now classified as dwarf planets, such as Pluto and Ceres,
worked with the rule to some extent, and therefore were considered a planet at the time. However, afterwards,
both ‘planets’ were reclassified to be dwarf planets, as they were found to be exceptions to the rule due to the
shape of their orbit.

The Titius-Bode rule has a lot of limitations to it and is put under doubt, despite the fact that no one can yet
disprove it. As the rule only works with fixed distances of the planets (when the distance does not change
largely at any point on the planets orbital), the relationship cannot be entirely confirmed. Therefore, the
planetary science community suggest the Titius-Bode rule to be a simple coincidence. For example, Ceres, the
planetary entity which was found using the Titius-Bode rule to be a planet, is actually the main body among the
asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter 2. For many years scientists tried to correct the Titius-Bode
relation so that it would work for all the planets, but the knowledge that is currently available regarding this
physical mechanism is very poor.

II. Background (including methodology, formula and Planet X to prove the theorem) 3

Astronomical investigations

In the late 1760s, German astronomer Johann Daniel Titius and in the early 1770s, Johann Elert Bode both
suspected a possibility of a pattern the distances between the planets of the Solar System. Is spite of the lack of
physical evidence they in regards to their hypothesis or any reason why there would be just a relationship,
mathematically it appeared to be true.

The following information is the orbital distances of the planets known in 1760 in astronomical units (AU) from
the Sun:

1
Encyclopedia Britannica. 2020. Bode's law | astronomy | Britannica. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://www.britannica.com/science/Bodes-law.
2
Astroquizzical. 2020. If you plot the planets in log, they look evenly spaced? — Astroquizzical. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://astroquizzical.com/astroquizzical/i-was-plotting-the-distances-of-the-planets-from .
3
IB Maths Resources from British International School Phuket. 2020. Log Graphs to Plot Planetary Patterns | IB Maths Resources
from British International School Phuket. [ONLINE] Available at: https://ibmathsresources.com/2017/08/14/log-graphs-to-plot-
planetary-patterns/.
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Mercury: 0.39 AU
Venus: 0.72 AU
Earth: 1.00 AU
Mars: 1.52 AU
Jupiter: 5.20 AU
Saturn: 9.54 AU

The astronomical unit (AU) is the mean distance from the centre of the Earth to the centre of the Sun (149.6
million kilometres) 4, but for the Internal Assessment the value was rounded up to 150 million kilometres.

As one looks at the values presented above, there is no definite linear relationship or any relationship between
the numbers at all. However, one should look at the pattern from the point of view of geometric sequence to see
the existing relationship that was suggested by Titius ad Bode. One can obtain the r value by dividing the term
0.72
above by the term below (for example =1.8).
0.39

This way we get r values of:

1.8, 1.4, 1.5, 3.4, 1.8

As one takes a look at the numbers, the fours values of 1.8, 1.4, 1.5 and 1.8 are remotely similar, however, there
is an outlier of 3.4. Noticing the gap, it was assumed, that there is an unknown planet – Planet X between Mars
and Jupiter, which was later suggested and proved to be Ceres.

The extraordinarily accurate fit of the planets to the rule is still a mystery. Besides the geometrical patters of the
values there is a formula, which accompanies the theoretical suggestions, however there are no theoretical
justification for the particular form of the formula. The formula of the theorem is shown to explain the Titius-
Bode rule, however the study is solely focused on the existing linear relationship in regards to planetary entities
and their moons.

d = a × bn5

One should apply the rules of the geometric sequence and AU values of Mars and Jupiter being 1.52 AU and
x 5.20
5.20 AU respectively to get = .
1.52 x

When the equation of solved, one gets a value of x = 2.8 AU, therefore that would be the distance of the missing
planet away from the Sun. This would give a list of new r values of 1.8, 1.4, 1.5, 1.8, 1.9, and 1.8, so there are
not no clearly visible outliers. In 1801 Ceres was discovered at exactly 2.8 AU from the Sun, which was the
precise value predicted using the Titius-Bode theorem. Currently, Ceres is classified as a dwarf planet between
Jupiter and Mars. 6

Log Plots

The data below shows the distance between the following planetary entities and the Sun in AU and the log(d)
value respectively 7:

Mercury: d = 0.39 AU. log(d) = -0.41

Venus: d = 0.72 AU. log(d) = -0.14
Earth: d = 1.00 AU. log(d) = 0
Mars: d = 1.52 AU. log(d) = 0.18
Ceres (dwarf): d = 2.8 AU. log(d) = 0.45
Jupiter: d = 5.20 AU. log(d) = 0.72

4
What is an astronomical unit? | Space | EarthSky. 2020. What is an astronomical unit? | Space | EarthSky. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://earthsky.org/space/what-is-the-astronomical-unit.
5
Titius-Bode type Relationships for Solar and Extra-Solar Planetary Systems . 2020. Titius-Bode type Relationships for Solar and
Extra-Solar Planetary Systems . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/bode6.htm.
6
Can We Find Exoplanets Using the Titius-Bode Relation?. 2020. Can We Find Exoplanets Using the Titius-Bode Relation?.
[ONLINE] Available at: https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2015/03/18/can-we-find-exoplanets-using-the-titius-bode-relation/ .
7
Tables. 2020. Tables. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.astronomynotes.com/tables/tablesb.htm.
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Saturn: d = 9.54 AU. log(d) = 0.98

Uranus: d = 19.2 AU. log(d) = 1.28

Given that d = a × b n with a and b assumed as constants, one can use apply the laws of logs to give:

log d = log a + n log b.

Plotting these values is the best way to visually represent a relationship that is to be proved. log d is put on the y
axis, while n ( mean distance in Astronomical Units (AU) is on the x axis. A linear graph will prove the
geometric relationship, as log a is the y intercept and log b is the gradient.

The equation will not apply to Neptune, according its mean distance being 38.8 AUs, but it is actually 30 AUs,
showing a strong disagreement between the values, therefore it is not applicable.
DESMOS Regression Tool was used to create an exemplary linear graph of the results above:

A line can be plotted across the graph to show to highlight the distinct linear relationship:

The graph shows a positive and very strong linear correlation with y intercept as -0.68 and gradient as 0.24. Given
that log a is the y intercept, this gives:

log(a) = -0.68

therefore, a = 0.21

Given that log b is the gradient this gives:

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log(b) = 0.24

therefore, b = 1.74

So the final formula for the relationship for the spacing of the n ordered planets is 0.21 × (1.74) n.

IV. Raw data:

Data below is used to plot log graphs to test for the positive linear relationship between the distances in astronomical
units (AU) between planetary entities (moons) and the centres of their orbits, as suggested by the Titius-Boden rule.
As not all AU values are available online, they were calculated assuming that 1 AU = 150 million km.
Example (calculating the distance in AU between the Moon and Earth):

Mean distance ¿ Earth(km) ¿

150 000 000 km =
384,400 km
=
150 000000 km
= 2.56 x 10-3 AU

Planets of the Solar System Astronomical Unit (AU) from the Number of moons
Sun
Mercury 0.39 0
Venus 0.72 0
Earth 1.00 1
Mars 1.52 2
Jupiter 5.20 67 (18 named)
Saturn 9.54 62 (32 named)
Uranus 19.2 27 (21 named)
Neptune 30.06 13
Pluto* (dwarf planet) 39.53 5
Ceres* (dwarf planet) 2.80 0

Moons of Earth Mean distance from Earth (km) Astronomical Unit (AU) from Earth
1. The Moon 384,400 2.56 x 10-3

https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/Earths_moon.htm
Moons of Mars Mean distance from Mars (km) Astronomical Unit (AU) from Mars
1. Phobos 9,378 6.25 x 10-5
2. Deimos 23,459 1.564 x 10-4

https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/
Martian_moons.htm#Phobos

Moons of Jupiter Mean distance from Jupiter Astronomical Unit (AU) from
(km) Jupiter
1. Io 422,000 2.81 x 10-3
2. Europa 671,000 4.47 x 10-3
3. Ganymede 1,070,000 7.13 x 10-3
4. Callisto 1,883,000 0.013
5. Amalthea 181,300 1.21 x 10-3
6. Himalia 11,480,000 0.077
7. Elara 11,737,000 0.078
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https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/Jupiters_moons.htm

Moons of Saturn Mean distance from Saturn Astronomical Unit (AU) from
(km) Saturn
1. Mimas 185,520 1.24 x 10-3
2. Enceladus 238,200 1.58 x 10-3
3. Tethys 294,660 1.96 x 10-3
4. Dione 377,400 2.52 x 10-3
5. Rhea 527,040 3.51 x 10-3
6. Titan 1,221,830 8.15 x 10-3
7. Hyperion 1,481,100 9.87 x 10-3

https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/Saturns_moons.htm

Moons of Uranus Mean distance from Uranus Astronomical Unit (AU) from
(km) Uranus
1. Ariel 190,930 1.27 x 10-3
2. Umbriel 265,980 1.77 x 10-3
3. Titania 436,270 2.91 x 10-3
4. Oberon 583,420 3.89 x 10-3
5. Miranda 129,850 8.66 x 10-4
6. Cordelia 49,752 3.32 x 10-4
7. Ophelia 53,764 3.58 x 10-4

https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/Uranus_moons.htm

Moons of Neptune Mean distance from Neptune Astronomical Unit (AU) from
(km) Neptune
1. Triton 354,760 2.37 x 10-3
2. Nereid 5,513,400 0.037
3. Naiad 48,200 3.21 x 10-4
4. Thalassa 50,000 3.33 x 10-4
5. Despina 52,600 3.51 x 10-4
6. Galatea 62,000 4.13 x 10-4
7. Larissa 73,600 4.91 x 10-4

https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/Neptunes_moons.htm

Moons of Pluto Mean distance from Pluto (km) Astronomical Unit (AU) from Pluto
1. Charon 19,640 1.31 x 10-4
2. Nix 48,700 3.25 x 10-4
3. Hydra 64,750 4.32 x 10-4
4. Kerberos 59,000 3.93 x 10-4
5. Styx 42,000 2.80 x 10-4

https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/Plutos_moon.htm
IV. Processed data: (testing the rule suggesting the positive linear relationship):

It is known that Pluto is an exception to the rule, therefore data collected for Pluto will not be plotted and tested, as
this dwarf planet has a very eccentric (elliptical) orbit, so the data which is being used is not likely to be accurate.

When n = 10, the formula would predict the value of 53.4 AU, but the average AU for Pluto is 39.5 – so the formula
does not work. This may be the case due to Pluto’s distance from the Sun varying – from 29.7 AU to 49.3 AU, so
perhaps the formula only fits the planets, which do not have a wide range of orbital distances from the Sun as it goes
through the orbit.
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Graphs for all samples except for Pluto

Desmos regression tool8 is used to plot all graphs representing the data values from the tables of the raw data (IV)
section of the Internal Assessment. Mean distance in Astronomical Units (AU) from each planet to its moon (d) –
lying on the y axis and log(d) values being put on the x axis.
1. Mars:

Moons of Mars Mean distance in log(d) – X

Astronomical Units (AU)
from Mars – Y
Phobos 1.56 x 10-4 -3.81
Deimos 6.25 x 10-5 -4.20

Mars shows a positive linear relationship, however it only has two moons, so it is hard to judge whether this evidence
is efficient due to the small sample available for this planet.
2. Jupiter:
Moons of Mean distance log(d) – X
Jupiter by in
distance from Astronomical
Jupiter (n) Units (AU)
from Jupiter
(d) – Y
Himalia 0.077 -1.11
Elara 0.078 -1.11
Callisto 0.013 -1.89
Ganymede 7.13 x 10-3 -2.15
Europa 4.47 x 10-3 -2.35
Io 2.81 x 10-3 -2.55
Amalthea 1.21 x 10-3 -2.92

Jupiter has many moons, so only seven were plotted.

There is an obvious large gap between the values, as
the distances vary, however one spots a positive and
almost linear correlation, with a slightly curved

8
Desmos.com. 2020. Desmos | Unsupported Browser. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.desmos.com/calculator.
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upward line shown on the graphs on the right, which can be evidence for the Titius-Bode rule, as the line fits the rule’s
pattern.
3. Saturn:
Moons of Mean distance log(d) – X
Saturn by in
distance from Astronomical
Saturn (n) Units (AU)
from Saturn (d)
–Y
Mimas 1.24 x 10-3 -2.91
Enceladus 1.58 x 10-3 -2.80
Tethys 1.96 x 10-3 -2.71
Dione 2.52 x 10-3 -2.60
Rhea 3.51 x 10-3 -2.45
Titan 8.15 x 10-3 -2.09
Hyperion 9.87 x 10-3 -2.01

In contrast to the data obtained for Jupiter, the graph

resulting from the data for Saturn shows an upward
straight line, proving the visibly strong positive linear
relationship, as suggested by the Titius-Bode rule.
Saturn also has more than seven moons that could be
used to plot the graph and this data is better to be used
as evidence to support the rule by showing that it works not only for the relationship between the planets around the
Sun and the Sun itself, but also for other planetary entities in regards to their moons. The explanation to this could be
the fact that the moons of Saturn are more evenly spaced out that of Jupiter, resulting in an overall clearer linear
relationship.

4. Uranus:
Moons of Mean distance log(d) – X
Uranus by in
distance from Astronomical
Uranus (n) Units (AU)
from Uranus
(d) – Y
Ariel 1.27 x 10-3 -2.87
Umbriel 1.77 x 10-3 -2.75
Titania 2.91 x 10-3 -2.54
Oberon 3.89 x 10-3 -2.41
Miranda 8.66 x 10-4 -3.06
Cordelia 3.32 x 10-4 -3.48
Ophelia 3.58 x 10-4 -3.45

Uranus follows the pattern of Saturn, as the data for

Uranus can overall be called a linear graph showing
a positive relationship between the two factors (mean
distances in AU and its log values). However, there
is an anomaly that breaks the pattern – Miranda,
which does not fit into the linear relation formed by
the other data values. One can suggest that Miranda
has an ellipse shaped orbit like Pluto and therefore its
position cannot be explained by the Titius-Bode rule.
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5. Neptune:
Moons of Mean distance log(d) – X
Neptune by in
distance from Astronomical
Neptune (n) Units (AU)
from Neptune
(d)
Triton 2.37 x 10-3 -2.63
Nereid 0.037 -1.43
Naiad 3.21 x 10-4 -3.49
Thalassa 3.33 x 10-4 -3.48
Despina 3.51 x 10-4 -3.45
Galatea 4.13 x 10-4 -3.38
Larissa 4.91 x 10-4 -3.31

Neptune clearly does not fit into the pattern of Titius

and Bode due to the shape of the curve on the graph.
Perhaps, this can be explained by the same reason as
in the case of Jupiter – there are many other moons
that are not taken into account, which could fill the
gaps on the graph, but it is more likely that the difference in the distances between certain moons such as Naiad and
Nereid are too large, creating large gaps. Also, unlike in other examples with other planets, Neptune has a number of
moons that are so close together, that the points on the graph clump and it is challenging to present all values to be
visible.

V. Evaluation:

Because of working with smaller values, showing the positive linear relation of the processed data on a graph was
challenging. Also, as the Titus-Boden rule does not have a justification, one can only attempt to prove/support it by
testing it on a variety of existing samples and see if the results follow the same pattern.
Each planet has a different number of moons, and taking them all into account would make the results more reliable,
however the number of moons in total would be too large for this investigations. Taking into account the fact that
most of the moons are unnamed and that they would create a range of even smaller values for plotting of the graph.
Additionally, each planet has a different number of moons, therefore despite the positive linear relationship all
planetary entities share, the data might not be reliable enough to confidently state that the relationship between planets
and their moons are following the Titus-Boden rule without exceptions.
Furthermore, new planetary entities are to be discovered, therefore one cannot suggest all unknown to these days
moons/planets will fit into this pattern.

VI. Conclusion:

In conclusion, the resulting graphs have supported the rule of Titus-Bode regarding the positive linear relationship
between not only the planets of the Solar system and the Sun, but also the respective planets and their moons.
For further research one could attempt to test the rule on the planets and their moons outside of the Solar System, or
use the Titus-Boden rule formula to suggest whether there are any unknown planets between the ones we know of by
looking into the geometric sequence of the astronomical units (AU) of the data available.
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VII. References and bibliography

 A Derivation of Titius-Bode Type Relations for the Planets of the Solar System and Satellite
Systems of the Planets . 2020. A Derivation of Titius-Bode Type Relations for the Planets of the
Solar System and Satellite Systems of the Planets . [ONLINE] Available
at: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/bode3.htm.
 Astroquizzical. 2020. If you plot the planets in log, they look evenly spaced? — Astroquizzical.
[ONLINE] Available at: https://astroquizzical.com/astroquizzical/i-was-plotting-the-distances-
of-the-planets-from.
 Can We Find Exoplanets Using the Titius-Bode Relation?. 2020. Can We Find Exoplanets
Using the Titius-Bode Relation?. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2015/03/18/can-we-find-exoplanets-using-the-titius-bode-
relation/.
 Desmos.com. 2020. Desmos | Unsupported Browser. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://www.desmos.com/calculator.
 Encyclopedia Britannica. 2020. Bode's law | astronomy | Britannica. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://www.britannica.com/science/Bodes-law.
 IB Maths Resources from British International School Phuket. 2020. Log Graphs to Plot Planetary
Patterns | IB Maths Resources from British International School Phuket. [ONLINE] Available at: https://
ibmathsresources.com/2017/08/14/log-graphs-to-plot-planetary-patterns/.
 Jupiter's Moons. 2020. Jupiter's Moons. [ONLINE] Available at: https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/
horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/Jupiters_moons.htm.
 Martian Moons. 2020. Martian Moons. [ONLINE] Available at: https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/
horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/Martian_moons.htm#Phobos.
 Moon. 2020. Moon. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/Earths_moon.htm .
 Neptune's Moons. 2020. Neptune's Moons. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/
Neptunes_moons.htm.
 OUP Academic. 2020. On the significance of the Titius–Bode law for the distribution of the
planets | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | Oxford Academic. [ONLINE]
Available at: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/341/4/1174/1035927.
 Planets evenly spaced on log scale, including extrasolar. 2020. Planets evenly spaced on log
scale, including extrasolar. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://www.johndcook.com/blog/2018/04/05/solar-system-on-log-scale/.
 Pluto's Moons. 2020. Pluto's Moons. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/Plutos_moon.htm .
 Saturn's Moons. 2020. Saturn's Moons. [ONLINE] Available at: https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/
horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/Saturns_moons.htm.
 Tables. 2020. Tables. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://www.astronomynotes.com/tables/tablesb.htm.
 Titius-Bode type Relationships for Solar and Extra-Solar Planetary Systems . 2020. Titius-Bode
type Relationships for Solar and Extra-Solar Planetary Systems . [ONLINE] Available at: http://
www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/bode6.htm.
 Uranus' Moons . 2020. Uranus' Moons . [ONLINE] Available at: https://web.pa.msu.edu/people/
horvatin/Astronomy_Facts/planet_pages/Uranus_moons.htm.
 What is an astronomical unit? | Space | EarthSky. 2020. What is an astronomical unit? | Space |
EarthSky. [ONLINE] Available at: https://earthsky.org/space/what-is-the-astronomical-unit.
Downloaded from www.clastify.com by avishi k umari