Determination of the Value of the Heliocentric Gravitational Constant (GM ⊙) from Modern Observations of Planets and Spacecraft

E. V. Pitjeva

Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data, 44, 031210 (2015)

Аннотация

The history of estimation of the heliocentric gravitational constant is given. Initially the value of GM ⊙ was based on the mean period of motion of the Earth around the Sun, then on estimation of the value of the astronomical unit, and finally the modern value of GM ⊙ is determined with the extraordinarily high accuracy, GM ⊙ = 132 712 440 042 ± 10 (km3/s2), while fitting ephemerides to high-precision radar observations.