Mercury's Precession

Einsteinian drift · ☿
checking…
EINSTEIN
the perihelion creeps

Self-test — the proof

Under Newton, gravity's pull is exactly 1/r² and a bound orbit is a closed ellipse — the perihelion returns to the same place every lap. General Relativity adds a faint 1/r³ whisper, and the ellipse never quite closes: the perihelion creeps forward forever. For Mercury that creep is the famous 43″ a century.

Theory of gravity
The orbiting body
Visualization aid
Perihelion advance · true physics
42.98″ / century Mercury — the unexplained 43″ that GR predicted exactly.
per orbit (Δϖ)5.019e-7 rad
per orbit (arcsec)0.1035″
period T87.97 d
orbits / century415.2
Newtonian advance0.000″ (closed)
On screen: GR term exaggerated ×200,000 so the creep is visible in seconds. The numbers above are the true, un-exaggerated figures.

Toggle Newtonian: the gold ellipse closes — the perihelion (gold dot) stays put, advance 0″. Toggle Einstein: the blue rosette opens and the perihelion marches around. Crank GR strength to exaggerate the creep, or pick a different planet — closer, more eccentric orbits precess more. The self-test proves the 43″ from the closed form 6πGM/(c²a(1−e²)).