[Sharlin]

> 2. The precession (change in orientation) of the perihelion (closest point of a planet to its star) of Mercury coming out to 18 inches rather than the observed 45 inches per century;

Certainly 45” is arcseconds here, not inches!

[evanb]

Yes. 45 inches per century would not have been remotely measurable at the time, and may not even be measurable today!