Submitted by LoreCriticizer t3_z53aqr in askscience
Kered13 t1_ixy67ha wrote
Reply to comment by phrankjones in How would one calculate the gravity of a planet? by LoreCriticizer
It's actually very difficult, because we have to derive it from gravity, and measuring gravity is very difficult. Actually, measuring the acceleration due to gravity is quite easy, that's what /u/lacgibra described. The trouble is measuring the gravitational constant. Of all the fundamental physical constants, the gravitational constant is the one that is known to the least accuracy. The classic experiment for this is Cavendish's experiment, and indeed this was originally conducted in order to estimate the mass of the Earth. This is still basically the technique used, but with much more precise equipment.
Fun fact: We know the mass of the other planets as a ratio to the mass of the Earth much more precisely than we know their absolute mass. This is because the uncertainty in the gravitational constant is greater than the uncertainty in the acceleration due to the planets that we can measure.
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