An Elementary Survey of Celestial Mechanics
Contributors: G. Yankovsky (Translator)
Publisher: Dover Publications
Published: February 10, 2006
Language: eng
Translated from: rus
Translation of: Celestial Mechanics
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 176
ISBN-13: 9780486450148
Subjects: Physics; Science; Science/Mathematics; Astrophysics & Space Science; Science / Physics; Celestial mechanics
Description: An accessible exposition of gravitation theory and celestial mechanics, this classic, oft-cited work was written by a distinguished Soviet astronomer. It explains with exceptional clarity the methods used by physicists in studying celestial phenomena.
A historical introduction explains the Ptolemaic view of planetary motion and its displacement by the studies of Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton. Succeeding chapters examine the making of celestial observations and measurements and explain such central concepts as the ecliptic, the orbital plane, the two- and three-body problems, and perturbed motion. Ryabov also describes how perturbations in the path of Uranus led to the discovery of Neptune, and he devotes considerable attention to satellites, including a detailed treatment of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I. Additional topics include planetary rotation, the calculation of units of time, and the motions of the stars, with illustrations of how the law of gravity determines the shapes of galaxies. The book concludes with a deeper consideration of gravity, pointing out basic distinctions between classical and Einsteinian theories.
Notes: This Dover edition, first published in 1961 and republished in 2006, is an unabridged republication of Celestial Mechanics by Uii Aleksandrovich Ryabov, originally published by Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, in 1959.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; label: 1.
title: Ancient Conceptions Concerning the Motions of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Stars; label: 2.
title: The Geometry of Planetary Motions form Copernicus to Kepler; label: 3.
title: The Discovery of the Law of Gravitation; label: 4.
title: The Attraction of Material Bodies of Different Shapes; label: 5.
title: Experimental Detection of Attraction between Material Bodies on Earth; label: 6.
title: Newton's Law - the Theoretical Basis of Celestial Motion; label: 7.
title: Celestial Motion and the Two Body Problem; label: 8.
title: The Concept of Perturbed Motion. Celestial Mechanics and Practical Astronomy; label: 9.
title: Ways of Describing Perturbed Motion. The Variational Orbit; label: 10.
title: The Problem of Motion in the Solar System; label: 11.
title: Successive Approximations in the Theory of Motion of Heavenly Bodies; label: 12.
title: The Discovery of Neptune; label: 13.
title: Periodic and Secular Perturbations; label: 14.
title: Numerical Methods in Celestial Mechanics; label: 15.
title: Satellite Theory; label: 16.
title: Artificial Earth Satellites and Their Motion; label: 17.
title: The Motions of Asteroids; label: 18.
title: Planetary Rotation; label: 19.
title: Problems of Qualitative Celestial Mechanics; label: 20.
title: Stellar Motions and the Law of Gravitation; label: 21.
title: What is Gravitation?; title: Appendix