Planets are massive celestial objects, so weighing them physically is practically

impossible. It’s not like we have an Earth- or Jupiter-sized weighing scale just lying
around. Therefore, the only way to do this is through a theoretical approach.

To find out the actual masses of planets we had to wait for Lord Henry Cavendish’s
experiment in 1797. He set up an experiment with two 150kg lead balls representing planets,
and two smaller spheres, representing moons, and he measured the gravitational pull
between them. Cavendish’s experiment led us to the missing piece of Newton’s puzzle,
which was the value of G – the number that relates the gravitational force between two
bodies to their masses and distance apart. By putting the value of G into Newton’s equation
Cavendish calculated Earth’s mass to be six billion trillion tonnes, which is within 1% of our
best guess today.

We start by determining the mass of the Earth. Issac Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation
tells us that the force of attraction between two objects is proportional the product of their
masses divided by the square of the distance between their centers of mass. To obtain a
reasonable approximation, we assume their geographical centers are their centers of mass.
Because we know the radius of the Earth, we can use the Law of Universal Gravitation to
calculate the mass of the Earth in terms of the gravitational force on an object (its weight) at
the Earth's surface, using the radius of the Earth as the distance. We also need the Constant
of Proportionality in the Law of Universal Gravitation, G. This value was experimentally
determined by Henry Cavendish in the 18th century to be the extemely small force of 6.67 x
10-11 Newtons between two objects weighing one kilogram each and separated by one meter.
Cavendish determined this constant by accurately measuring the horizontal force between
metal spheres in an experiment sometimes referred to as "weighing the earth."
Knowing the mass and radius of the Earth and the distance of the Earth from the sun, we
can calculate the mass of the sun (right), again by using the law of universal gravitation. The
gravitational attraction between the Earth and the sun is G times the sun's mass times the
Earth's mass, divided by the distance between the Earth and the sun squared. This
attraction must be equal to the centripetal force needed to keep the earth in its (almost
circular) orbit around the sun. The centripetal force is the Earth's mass times the square of
its speed divided by its distance from the sun. By astronomically determining the distance to
the sun, we can calculate the earth's speed around the sun and hence the sun's mass.
Once we have the sun's mass, we can similarly determine the mass of any planet by
astronomically determining the planet's orbital radius and period, calculating the required
centripetal force and equating this force to the force predicted by the law of universal
gravitation using the sun's mass.
When you stand on a scale, the scale measures how strongly Earth’s gravity pulls on
you, but how strongly the planet pulls depends not only on your weight, but also on
the planet’s weight. The heavier the planet, the greater its gravitational pull, so
scientists can weigh Earth by measuring how hard it pulls on another object.

First, let’s determine the mass of the Earth. Issac Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation tells us that the force of attraction between two objects is proportional
to the product of their masses divided by the square of the distance between their
centers of mass. In order to simplify the calculation part, we assume that their
geographical centers are their centers of mass (the point where the body’s maximum
mass is present).

Since we know the radius of Earth, we can use Newton’s Law of Universal
Gravitation to calculate the mass of Earth in terms of the gravitational force it has on
an object, i.e., its weight on the Earth’s surface, using the radius of Earth as our
distance variable.
Measuring the Mass
By observing the effect of a planet’s gravitational pull on an orbiting moon, the
weight of the planet can be calculated. Now, the gravitational pull between the
planet and the moon depends on the mass of the two bodies and the distance
between them. The heavier the planet, the more gravitational pull there will be.

After the distance between the planet and the moon and the time it takes to
complete one revolution is calculated, the weight of the planet can be calculated
rather easily. Who knew that the seemingly impossible task of measuring something
in outer space could be completed so simply with mathematics and physics?

For example, if we see a moon orbiting a planet at certain distance from it, the orbital period of the moon at that
particular distance will mainly depend on the planet's mass. The more massive the planet, the more strongly it
attracts the moon and faster the moon moves. It is straightforward for astronomers to calculate the planet's mass
after we have observed the motion of one of its moons for a while.