Gaussian year

days.

The stated value was adopted by Carl Friedrich Gauss as the length of the sidereal year in his studies of the dynamics of the solar system. A slightly different value is now accepted as the length of the sidereal year, and the value accepted by Gauss is given a special name.

A particle of negligible mass, that orbits a body of 1 solar mass in this period, has a mean axis for its orbit of 1 astronomical unit by definition. The value is derived from the Kepler's third law as

<math>\mbox{1 Gaussian year}=2\pi/k<math>

where k is the Gaussian gravitational constant.

See also

astronomical unit