[Alberta's Child]

For practical applications, sure. But that's not quite the same as "scientific" as I would define it.

This is why the engineers among us build margins of safety into everything we do.

[sparklite2]

Since we can’t test orbital mechanics by adding or subtracting planets, all we can go on is observation.
Predicting where a planet will be at a given time is a test, and maybe an experiment of sorts, if you will. It’s science to me.