Einstein’s general relativity reveals new quirk of Mercury’s orbit
Warped spacetime affects the planet’s motion in several ways
ORBIT UPDATE Einstein’s general theory of relativity led scientists to rethink how Mercury orbits the sun. A new analysis calculates a secondary effect of general relativity on that orbit.
The calculation of Mercury’s orbit is being tweaked — for a second time. And it’s all thanks to Albert Einstein.
Before the famous physicist came up with his theory of gravity, known as the general theory of relativity, scientists’ predictions for Mercury’s motions were slightly off: The planet’s orbit disagreed with expectations. When Einstein realized that general relativity accounted for the mismatch, it was the first sign his theory was right (SN: 10/17/15, p. 16).