Gauss's Method
In orbital mechanics (a subfield of celestial mechanics), Gauss's method is used for preliminary orbit determination from at least three observations (more observations increases the accuracy of the determined orbit) of the orbiting body of interest at three different times. The required information are the times of observations, the position vectors of the observation points (in Equatorial Coordinate System), the direction cosine vector of the orbiting body from the observation points (from Topocentric Equatorial Coordinate System) and general physical data. Working in 1801, Carl Friedrich Gauss developed important mathematical techniques (summed up in Gauss's methods) which were specifically used to determine the orbit of Ceres. The method shown following is the orbit determination of an orbiting body about the focal body where the observations were taken from, whereas the method for determining Ceres' orbit requires a bit more effort because the observations were taken from Eart ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Orbital Mechanics
Orbital mechanics or astrodynamics is the application of ballistics and celestial mechanics to rockets, satellites, and other spacecraft. The motion of these objects is usually calculated from Newton's laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation. Astrodynamics is a core discipline within space-mission design and control. Celestial mechanics treats more broadly the orbital dynamics of systems under the influence of gravity, including both spacecraft and natural astronomical bodies such as star systems, planets, moons, and comets. Orbital mechanics focuses on spacecraft trajectories, including orbital maneuvers, orbital plane changes, and interplanetary transfers, and is used by mission planners to predict the results of propulsive maneuvers. General relativity is a more exact theory than Newton's laws for calculating orbits, and it is sometimes necessary to use it for greater accuracy or in high-gravity situations (e.g. orbits near the Sun). History Until th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Declination
In astronomy, declination (abbreviated dec; symbol ''δ'') is one of the two angles that locate a point on the celestial sphere in the equatorial coordinate system, the other being hour angle. The declination angle is measured north (positive) or south (negative) of the celestial equator, along the hour circle passing through the point in question. The root of the word ''declination'' (Latin, ''declinatio'') means "a bending away" or "a bending down". It comes from the same root as the words ''incline'' ("bend forward") and ''recline'' ("bend backward"). In some 18th and 19th century astronomical texts, declination is given as ''North Pole Distance'' (N.P.D.), which is equivalent to 90 – (declination). For instance an object marked as declination −5 would have an N.P.D. of 95, and a declination of −90 (the south celestial pole) would have an N.P.D. of 180. Explanation Declination in astronomy is comparable to geographic latitude, projected onto the celestial sphere, and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Newton–Raphson Method
In numerical analysis, the Newton–Raphson method, also known simply as Newton's method, named after Isaac Newton and Joseph Raphson, is a root-finding algorithm which produces successively better approximations to the roots (or zeroes) of a real-valued function. The most basic version starts with a real-valued function , its derivative , and an initial guess for a root of . If satisfies certain assumptions and the initial guess is close, then x_ = x_0 - \frac is a better approximation of the root than . Geometrically, is the x-intercept of the tangent of the graph of at : that is, the improved guess, , is the unique root of the linear approximation of at the initial guess, . The process is repeated as x_ = x_n - \frac until a sufficiently precise value is reached. The number of correct digits roughly doubles with each step. This algorithm is first in the class of Householder's methods, and was succeeded by Halley's method. The method can also be extended to c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gravitational Parameter
The standard gravitational parameter ''μ'' of a celestial body is the product of the gravitational constant ''G'' and the mass ''M'' of that body. For two bodies, the parameter may be expressed as , or as when one body is much larger than the other: \mu=G(M+m)\approx GM . For several objects in the Solar System, the value of ''μ'' is known to greater accuracy than either ''G'' or ''M''. The SI unit of the standard gravitational parameter is . However, the unit is frequently used in the scientific literature and in spacecraft navigation. Definition Small body orbiting a central body The central body in an orbital system can be defined as the one whose mass (''M'') is much larger than the mass of the orbiting body (''m''), or . This approximation is standard for planets orbiting the Sun or most moons and greatly simplifies equations. Under Newton's law of universal gravitation, if the distance between the bodies is ''r'', the force exerted on the smaller body is: F = \fra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Triple Product
In geometry and algebra, the triple product is a product of three 3- dimensional vectors, usually Euclidean vectors. The name "triple product" is used for two different products, the scalar-valued scalar triple product and, less often, the vector-valued vector triple product. Scalar triple product The scalar triple product (also called the mixed product, box product, or triple scalar product) is defined as the dot product of one of the vectors with the cross product of the other two. Geometric interpretation Geometrically, the scalar triple product : \mathbf\cdot(\mathbf\times \mathbf) is the (signed) volume of the parallelepiped defined by the three vectors given. Properties * The scalar triple product is unchanged under a circular shift of its three operands (a, b, c): *: \mathbf\cdot(\mathbf\times \mathbf)= \mathbf\cdot(\mathbf\times \mathbf)= \mathbf\cdot(\mathbf\times \mathbf) * Swapping the positions of the operators without re-ordering the operands ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dot Product
In mathematics, the dot product or scalar productThe term ''scalar product'' means literally "product with a Scalar (mathematics), scalar as a result". It is also used for other symmetric bilinear forms, for example in a pseudo-Euclidean space. Not to be confused with scalar multiplication. is an algebraic operation that takes two equal-length sequences of numbers (usually coordinate vectors), and returns a single number. In Euclidean geometry, the dot product of the Cartesian coordinates of two Euclidean vector, vectors is widely used. It is often called the inner product (or rarely the projection product) of Euclidean space, even though it is not the only inner product that can be defined on Euclidean space (see ''Inner product space'' for more). It should not be confused with the cross product. Algebraically, the dot product is the sum of the Product (mathematics), products of the corresponding entries of the two sequences of numbers. Geometrically, it is the product of the Euc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Parallelepiped Volume
In geometry, a parallelepiped is a three-dimensional figure formed by six parallelograms (the term ''rhomboid'' is also sometimes used with this meaning). By analogy, it relates to a parallelogram just as a cube relates to a square. Three equivalent definitions of ''parallelepiped'' are *a hexahedron with three pairs of parallel faces, *a polyhedron with six faces (hexahedron), each of which is a parallelogram, and *a prism of which the base is a parallelogram. The rectangular cuboid (six rectangular faces), cube (six square faces), and the rhombohedron (six rhombus faces) are all special cases of parallelepiped. "Parallelepiped" is now usually pronounced or ; traditionally it was because of its etymology in Greek παραλληλεπίπεδον ''parallelepipedon'' (with short -i-), a body "having parallel planes". Parallelepipeds are a subclass of the prismatoids. Properties Any of the three pairs of parallel faces can be viewed as the base planes of the prism. A parallel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cross Product
In mathematics, the cross product or vector product (occasionally directed area product, to emphasize its geometric significance) is a binary operation on two vectors in a three-dimensional oriented Euclidean vector space (named here E), and is denoted by the symbol \times. Given two linearly independent vectors and , the cross product, (read "a cross b"), is a vector that is perpendicular to both and , and thus normal to the plane containing them. It has many applications in mathematics, physics, engineering, and computer programming. It should not be confused with the dot product (projection product). The magnitude of the cross product equals the area of a parallelogram with the vectors for sides; in particular, the magnitude of the product of two perpendicular vectors is the product of their lengths. The units of the cross-product are the product of the units of each vector. If two vectors are parallel or are anti-parallel (that is, they are linearly dependent), ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cross Product Vector
A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a saltire in heraldic terminology. The cross shape has been widely officially recognized as an absolute and exclusive religious symbol of Christianity from an early period in that religion's history.''Christianity: an introduction'' by Alister E. McGrath 2006 pages 321-323 Before then, it was used as a religious or cultural symbol throughout Europe, in West Asia, west and south Asia (the latter, in the form of the original Swastika); and in Ancient Egypt, where the Ankh was a hieroglyph that represented "life" and was used in the wo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kepler's Equation
In orbital mechanics, Kepler's equation relates various geometric properties of the orbit of a body subject to a central force. It was derived by Johannes Kepler in 1609 in Chapter 60 of his ''Astronomia nova'', and in book V of his ''Epitome of Copernican Astronomy'' (1621) Kepler proposed an iterative solution to the equation. This equation and its solution, however, first appeared in a 9th-century work by Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi, which dealt with problems of parallax. The equation has played an important role in the history of both physics and mathematics, particularly classical celestial mechanics. Equation Kepler's equation is where M is the mean anomaly, E is the eccentric anomaly, and e is the Eccentricity (mathematics), eccentricity. The 'eccentric anomaly' E is useful to compute the position of a point moving in a Keplerian orbit. As for instance, if the body passes the periastron at coordinates x = a(1 - e), y = 0, at time t = t_0, then to find out the position ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Orbital Mechanics For Engineering Students
''Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students'' is an aerospace engineering textbook by Howard D. Curtis, in its fourth edition . The book provides an introduction to orbital mechanics, while assuming an undergraduate-level background in physics, rigid body dynamics, differential equations, and linear algebra. Topics covered by the text include a review of kinematics and Newtonian dynamics, the two-body problem, Kepler's laws of planetary motion, orbit determination, orbital maneuvers, relative motion and rendezvous, and interplanetary trajectories. The text focuses primarily on orbital mechanics, but also includes material on rigid body dynamics, rocket vehicle dynamics, and attitude control. Control theory and spacecraft control systems are less thoroughly covered. The textbook includes exercises at the end of each chapter, and supplemental material is available online, including MATLAB MATLAB (an abbreviation of "MATrix LABoratory") is a proprietary multi-paradigm ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lagrange Polynomials
In numerical analysis, the Lagrange interpolating polynomial is the unique polynomial of lowest degree of a polynomial, degree that polynomial interpolation, interpolates a given set of data. Given a data set of graph of a function, coordinate pairs (x_j, y_j) with 0 \leq j \leq k, the x_j are called ''nodes'' and the y_j are called ''values''. The Lagrange polynomial L(x) has degree \leq k and assumes each value at the corresponding node, L(x_j) = y_j. Although named after Joseph-Louis Lagrange, who published it in 1795, the method was first discovered in 1779 by Edward Waring. It is also an easy consequence of a formula published in 1783 by Leonhard Euler. Uses of Lagrange polynomials include the Newton–Cotes formulas, Newton–Cotes method of numerical integration, Shamir's Secret Sharing, Shamir's secret sharing scheme in cryptography, and Reed–Solomon error correction in coding theory. For equispaced nodes, Lagrange interpolation is susceptible to Runge's phenomenon o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |