38 Mr. S. M. Drach on some new and curious 



2 

 by Laplace = — of the former; the planetary ellipticities are 



(/ 5 75 



confined between ^ and ^r ^ + {j S'S &c. According to 



M. Poisson {Mtc. i. p. 367.), Q = 2^^T^- 



With data furnished by the Ladies' Diary for 1837, the 

 following table was constructed : 



This table suggests the following remarks : 



1 . The first four planets rotating nearly in equal times, q 



3 1 



is for them nearly as the density inversely, and s/ — oc 8^. 



2. With the single exception of Venus, the value of the 

 relative radius appears to decrease as we recede from the sun 

 according to some function of the distance. 



3. The oft-named limiting distance of a planet (16 millions 

 of miles) : distance of the first planet Mercury (37 millions) 

 ::l:2.27::l:2i::3:4 + 3 nearly, which is probably the 

 true reason of 3 and 4 being ihe fundamental numbers of 

 Bode's law, viz. 



4 , 4 + 2'. 3 from / = to 2 = 6. 



4. These researches have evolved to me a simpler and more 

 universal law, embracing the comets, and secondary systems 



