Velocity the angular speed formula_27 and the magnitude of the displacement. such that Angular momentum in scalar form is the mass times the distance to the origin times the transverse velocity, or equivalently, the mass times the distance squared times the angular speed. The sign convention for angular momentum is the same as that for angular velocity. where The expression formula_33 is known as moment of inertia. If forces are in the radial direction only with an inverse square dependence, as in the case of a gravitational orbit, angular momentum is constant, and transverse speed is inversely proportional to the distance,
True mass True mass The term true mass is synonymous with the term mass, but is used in astronomy to differentiate the measured mass of a planet from the lower limit of mass usually obtained from radial velocity techniques. Methods used to determine the true mass of a planet include measuring the distance and period of one of its satellites, advanced astrometry techniques that use the motions of other planets in the same star system, combining radial velocity techniques with transit observations (which indicate very low orbital inclinations), and combining radial velocity techniques with stellar parallax measurements (which also determine orbital inclinations).