place constraints on sth

The planet was discovered by TESS, NASA's planet-hunting space telescope designed to find exoplanets that pass between us and their home star, by detecting the telltale dimming as the planet blocks a small percentage of the star's light. The depth of dimming, and the tiny movements of the star as it is very slightly pulled by the planet's gravity (detected with other telescopes), allow scientists to place constraints on the size and mass of the planet.

(Source:https://www.sciencealert.com/a-newly-discovered-rocky-exoplanet-has-three-red-suns#:~:text=The%20planet%20was%20discovered%20by,percentage%20of%20the%20star's%20light.)

According to the context, I can infer that "place constraints on" here means something like "measure" or "calculate". However, I can't find any related meanings in dictionaries for the word "constraint" or the phrase "place constraints on sth." So my question is that do I just get the meaning through the context, or the meaning of "measure" has something to do with that of "place constraints on"?

Thank you!

Solution 1:

To "place constraints" on the size or the mass is only to place quantifiable Limits on these measurements. This method allows them to describe the planet's characteristics plus-or-minus particular error numbers just as all scientific quantities are described.

Solution 2:

Constraints are many and various in this context. Here are two examples.

If I buy an even number (38) of the same-priced item (£17.39) I may not immediately know the total but I know for sure that the total is constrained to be even. I also know than the last digit must be 2 (because 9 x 8 = 72, ends in 2). So the constraint on the even total is that it ends in 2.

If I guess the area of Scotland, my guess is constrained by my knowing the country is about 400 km longest and 300 km widest, so I know that it will not be above about 120 thousand square km. I also know that I can easily travel from my home 100 km in most directions without falling in the sea, so I know that I live in a circle about 30 thousand square km. So my guess is constrained by my rough knowledge to be between 30 and 120 thousand km. (actual area is about 75 thousand square km).