A new method for the determination of an intermediate orbit using three positions of a small body on the celestial sphere

We propose a new method for the determination of the preliminary orbit of a small celestial body using three pairs of its angular coordinates in three moments of time. The method is based on the use of the intermediate orbit we constructed earlier using three position vectors and the corresponding time moments. This intermediate orbit accounts for the main part of the perturbations of the motion of the body under study. We compare the results obtained by the classical Lagrange-Gauss method, Herrick-Gibbs method, generalized Herrick-Gibbs method, and the new method by the examples of the determination of the orbit of the small planet 1566 Icarus. The comparison showed that the new method is a highly efficient tool for the study of perturbed motion. It is especially efficient when applied to high-precision observational data covering short arcs of the orbit.     

Determination of an intermediate perturbed orbit from three position vectors

We suggest a new approach to solving the problem of finding the orbit of a celestial body from its three spatial position vectors and the corresponding times. It allows most of the perturbations in the motion of a celestial body to be taken into account. The approach is based on the theory of intermediate orbits that we developed previously. We construct the orbit the motion along which is a combination of two motions: the motion of a fictitious attracting center whose mass varies according to Mestschersky’s first law and the motion relative to the fictitious center. The first motion is generally parabolic, while the second motion is described by the equations of the Gylden-Mestschersky problem. The constructed orbit has such parameters that their limiting values at any reference epoch define a superosculating intermediate orbit with a fourth-order tangency. We have performed a numerical analysis to estimate the accuracy of approximating the perturbed motion of two minor planets, 145 Adeona and 4179 Toutatis, by the orbits computed using two-position procedures (the classical Gauss method and the method that we suggested previously), a three-position procedure based on the Herrick-Gibbs equation, and the new method. Comparison of the results obtained suggests that the latter method has an advantage.     

Calculation of the intermediate perturbed orbit from three or more positions of a small body on the celestial sphere

Two new methods are described for finding the orbit of a small celestial body from three or more pairs of angular measurements and the corresponding time points. The methods are based on, first, the approach that has been developed previously by the author to the determination, from a minimum number of observations, of intermediate orbit considering most of the perturbations in the bodies’ motion and, second, Herget’s algorithmic procedure enabling the introduction of additional observations. The errors of orbital parameters calculated by the proposed methods are two orders of magnitude smaller than the corresponding errors of the traditional approach based on the construction of an unperturbed Keplerian orbit. The thus-calculated orbits of the minor planets 1566 Icarus, 2002 EC1, and 2010 TO48 are used to compare the results of Herget’s multiposition procedure and the new methods. The comparison shows that the new methods are highly effective in the study of perturbed motion. They are particularly beneficial if high-precision observational data covering short orbital arcs are available.     

The Determination of an Intermediate Perturbed Orbit from Two Position Vectors

Based on the theory of intermediate orbits developed earlier by the author of this paper, a new approach is proposed to the solution of the problem of finding the orbit of a celestial body with the use of two position vectors of this body and the corresponding time interval. This approach makes it possible to take into account the main part of perturbations. The orbit is constructed, the motion along which is a combination of two motions: the uniform motion along a straight line of a fictitious attracting center, whose mass varies according to the first Meshchersky law, and the motion around this center. The latter is described by the equations of the Gylden–Meshchersky problem. The parameters of the constructed orbit are chosen so that their limiting values at any reference epoch determine a superosculating intermediate orbit with third-order tangency. The accuracy of approximation of the perturbed motion by the orbits calculated by the classical Gauss method and the new method is illustrated by an example of the motion of the unusual minor planet 1566 Icarus. Comparison of the results obtained shows that the new method has obvious advantages over the Gauss method. These advantages are especially prominent in cases where the angular distances between the reference positions are small.     

A method of intermediate orbit determination based on four positions of a minor body on the celestial sphere

A new method of computing the preliminary orbit of a celestial body based on four pairs of angle measurements has been suggested. The method makes use of preliminary orbit previously constructed by the author based on two position vectors and a corresponding time interval, taking into account the main part of the perturbations in the motion of the body under study. Using the example of constructing the orbit of the minor planet 1383 Limburgia, the results obtained using a four-position procedure of the Gaussian type based on the solution of a two-body problem have been compared with those of the new method. The comparison showed the new method to be highly efficient for perturbed motion studies. It is especially advantageous in the case of high-accuracy observation data on small orbital arcs.     

Poisson equations of rotational motion for a rigid triaxial body with application to a tumbling artificial satellite

Differential equations are derived for studying the effects of either conservative or nonconservative torques on the attitude motion of a tumbling triaxial rigid satellite. These equations, which are analogous to the Lagrange planetary equations for osculating elements, are then used to study the attitude motions of a rapidly spinning, triaxial, rigid satellite about its center of mass, which, in turn, is constrained to move in an elliptic orbit about an attracting point mass. The only torques considered are the gravity-gradient torques associated with an inverse-square field. The effects of oblateness of the central body on the orbit are included, in that, the apsidal line of the orbit is permitted to rotate at a constant rate while the orbital plane is permitted to precess (either posigrade or retrograde) at a constant rate with constant inclination.A method of averaging is used to obtain an intermediate set of averaged differential equations for the nonresonant, secular behavior of the osculating elements which describe the complete rotational motions of the body about its center of mass. The averaged differential equations are then integrated to obtain long-term secular solutions for the osculating elements. These solutions may be used to predict both the orientation of the body with respect to a nonrotating coordinate system and the motion of the rotational angular momentum about the center of mass. The complete development is valid to first order in (n/w ₀)², wheren is the satellite's orbital mean motion andw ₀ its initial rotational angular speed.     

Elliptic-type motion in Fock's gravitational field

The elliptic-type motion in the gravitational field found by Fock as exact solution of Einstein's vacuum equations in the case of spherical symmetry (Solution called here Fock's gravitational field) is studied by means of a classic method based on the perturbation theory. Regarding the deviations of the orbit from a Kepleian orbit as perturbations, the first and second order variations of the Keplerian orbital elements over one nodal period as well as those of the nodal period itself are determined.     

Astrometric study of the triple star ADS 9173

An approximate orbit of the wide visual binary star ADS 9173 A(Bb) with a period of ～6000 yr has been determined for the first time by the method of apparent motion parameters. The orbit was computed using a short (1982–2004) arc of photographic observations obtained with the 26-inch Pulkovo Observatory refractor and the Hipparcos parallax. Agreement of the new orbit with the observations from the WDS catalog beginning in 1832 serves as a check. The errors in the orbital elements are large, but the orientation elements of the orbital plane (i and Ω) were estimated reliably. Component B has an invisible spectroscopic companion with a period of 4.9 yr. An astrometric orbit of Bb consistent with radial velocity measurements was determined from the residuals to the relative orbital motion of A(Bb). The orbital planes are nearly coplanar. If the mass of component B is taken in accordance with the mass—luminosity relation, 1.5 M _⊙, and the parallax is 0.″021, then the mass of the secondary component is no less than 0.5M _⊙. Component A may also be a long-period binary system.     

The orbit of the visual binary ADS 8630 (γ Vir)

We present a new orbit for the visual binary ADS 8630 = γ Vir. Although it is one of the first visual double stars discovered, its orbital elements were still poorly known. Indeed the very high eccentricity of the orbit and the difficulty of observing the pair at periastron passage in 1836 has meant that it is only now that sufficient measures of the recent close approach in 2005 have allowed an orbital analysis which predicts the angular motion to an acceptable degree of accuracy. We present a series of 35 speckle measurements of ADS 8630 obtained with PISCO in Merate between 2004 and 2006. Those measures have been crucial for determining the new orbital elements since they cover an arc of 130 degrees in the apparent orbit and include the periastron passage of 2005. The masses of the individual F0V components of the binary are found to be 1.40 M_⊙ with an accuracy of about 3%. We also investigate in detail the possibility of the presence of a third body in the system, that was proposed by other authors. The high‐angular resolution infra‐red image of γ Vir that we obtained in June 2006 with the LuckyCam instrument on the ESO NTT shows the absence of any companion as faint as a M0V star at a distance larger than 0.4″. Combined with the analysis of the residuals of our orbit, the values found for the masses of the individual components and the radial velocity measurements, this observation rules out the presence in the system of a third companion with a mass larger than 0.3 M_⊙. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Orbital dynamics and equilibrium points around an asteroid with gravitational orbit–attitude coupling perturbation

The strongly perturbed dynamical environment near asteroids has been a great challenge for the mission design. Besides the non-spherical gravity, solar radiation pressure, and solar tide, the orbital motion actually suffers from another perturbation caused by the gravitational orbit–attitude coupling of the spacecraft. This gravitational orbit–attitude coupling perturbation (GOACP) has its origin in the fact that the gravity acting on a non-spherical extended body, the real case of the spacecraft, is actually different from that acting on a point mass, the approximation of the spacecraft in the orbital dynamics. We intend to take into account GOACP besides the non-spherical gravity to improve the previous close-proximity orbital dynamics. GOACP depends on the spacecraft attitude, which is assumed to be controlled ideally with respect to the asteroid in this study. Then, we focus on the orbital motion perturbed by the non-spherical gravity and GOACP with the given attitude. This new orbital model can be called the attitude-restricted orbital dynamics, where restricted means that the orbital motion is studied as a restricted problem at a given attitude. In the present paper, equilibrium points of the attitude-restricted orbital dynamics in the second degree and order gravity field of a uniformly rotating asteroid are investigated. Two kinds of equilibria are obtained: on and off the asteroid equatorial principal axis. These equilibria are different from and more diverse than those in the classical orbital dynamics without GOACP. In the case of a large spacecraft, the off-axis equilibrium points can exist at an arbitrary longitude in the equatorial plane. These results are useful for close-proximity operations, such as the asteroid body-fixed hovering.     

Quasi-Tangency Points on the Orbits of a Small Body and a Planet at the Low-Velocity Encounter

We propose a method for selecting a low-velocity encounter of a small body with a planet from the evolution of the orbital elements. Polar orbital coordinates of the quasi-tangency point on the orbit of a small body are determined. Rectangular heliocentric coordinates of the quasi-tangency point on the orbit of a planet are determined. An algorithm to search for low-velocity encounters in the evolution of the orbital elements of small bodies is described. The low-velocity encounter of comet 39P/Oterma with Jupiter is considered as an example.     

Motion of Pasiphae’s perijove and node

We investigated the motion of the perijove and ascending node of the 8th satellite of Jupiter, Pasiphae. The main perturbations by the Sun on the satellite permitted to use an intermediate orbit obtained by approximated solutions of differential equations previously transformed by the Von Zeipel method. The orbit is a non-Keplerian ellipse. The secular motion of the ascending node, argument of perijove, and essential periodic perturbations were taken into account. Using our theory we showed that the inclination and eccentricity of Pasiphae can acquire values by which the orbit becomes a librating one; but, within Pasiphae’s observation period, the motion of its perijove is circulating. Taking into account the results of our previous works on Pasiphae motion, we can conclude that the mean motion of the ascending node is similar for different values of the satellite inclination and eccentricity. But the mean motion of the perijove strongly depends on the orbit inclination and eccentricity, according to the Lidov–Kozai mechanism.     

Analytical solution for the three-dimensional motion of a circumbinary planet around a binary star

By using the method of separating rapid and slow subsystem, we obtain an analytical solution for a stable three-dimensional motion of a circumbinary planet around a binary star. We show that the motion of the planet is more complicated than it was obtained for this situation analytically by Farago and Laskar (2010). Namely, in addition to the precession of the orbital plane of the planet around the angular momentum of the binary (found by Farago and Laskar (2010)), there is simultaneously the precession of the orbital plane of the planet within the orbital plane. We show that the frequency of this additional precession is different from the frequency of the precession of the orbital plane around the angular momentum of the binary. We demonstrate that this problem is mathematically equivalent both to the problem of the motion of a satellite around an oblate planet and to the problem of a hydrogen Rydberg atom in the field of a high-frequency linearly-polarized laser radiation, thus discovering yet another connection between astrophysics and atomic physics. We point out that all of the above physical systems have a higher than geometrical symmetry, which is a counterintuitive result. In particular, it is manifested by the fact that, while the elliptical orbit of the circumbinary planet (around a binary star) or of the satellite (around an oblate planet) or of the Rydberg electron (in the laser field) undergoes simultaneously two types of the precession, the shape of the orbit does not change. The fact that a system, consisting of a circumbinary planet around a binary star, possesses the hidden symmetry should be of a general physical interest. Our analytical results could be used for benchmarking future simulations.     

A method for averaging the perturbing function in Hill’s problem

A modified method for averaging the perturbing function in Hill’s problem is suggested. The averaging is performed in the revolution period of the satellite over the mean anomaly of its motion with a full allowance for a variation in the position of the perturbing body. At its fixed position, the semimajor axis of the satellite orbit during the revolution of the satellite is constant in view of the evolution equations, while the remaining orbital elements undergo secular and long-period perturbations. Therefore, when the motion of the perturbing body is taken into account, the semimajor axis of the satellite orbit undergoes the strongest perturbations. The suggested approach generalizes the averaging method in which only the linear (in time) term is included in the perturbing function. This method requires no expansion in powers of time. The described method is illustrated by calculating the perturbations of the semimajor axes for two distant satellites of Saturn, S/2000 S 1 and S/2000 S5. An approximate analytic solution is compared with the results of numerical integration of the averaged system of equations of motion for these satellites.     

Constructive-analytical solution of the problem of the secular evolution of polar satellite orbits

The well-known twice-averaged Hill problem is considered by taking into account the oblateness of the central body. This problem has several integrable cases that have been studied qualitatively by many scientists, beginning with M.L. Lidov and Y. Kozai. However, no rigorous analytical solution can be obtained in these cases due to the complexity of the integrals. This paper is devoted to studying the case where the equatorial plane of the central body coincides with the plane of its orbital motion relative to the perturbing body, while the satellite itself moves in a polar orbit. A more detailed qualitative study is performed, and an approximate constructive-analytical solution of the evolution system in the form of explicit time dependences of the eccentricity and pericenter argument of the satellite orbit is proposed. The methodical accuracy for the polar orbits of lunar satellites has been estimated by comparison with the numerical solution of the system.     

A note on the tidally induced potential of a satellite in eccentric orbit

A planetary body moving on an eccentric orbit around the primary is subject to a periodic perturbing potential, affecting its internal mass distribution. In a previous paper (Rappaport et al., 1997, Icarus 126, 313), we have calculated the periodic modulation of the gravity coefficients of degree 2, for a body on a synchronous orbit. Here, the previous analysis is extended by considering also non-synchronous orbits, and by properly accounting for the apparent motion of the primary due to the non uniform motion along the elliptical orbit. The cases of Titan and Mercury are briefly discussed.     

The orbital evolution of NEA 30825 1900 TG1

The orbital evolution of the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) 30825 1990 TG1 has been studied by numerical integration of the equations of its motion over the 100 000-year time interval with allowance for perturbations from eight major planets and Pluto, and the variations in its osculating orbit over this time interval were determined. The numerical integrations were performed using two methods: the Bulirsch-Stoer method and the Everhart method. The comparative analysis of the two resulting orbital evolutions of motion is presented for the time interval examined. The evolution of the asteroid motion is qualitatively the same for both variants, but the rate of evolution of the orbital elements is different. Our research confirms the known fact that the application of different integrators to the study of the long-term evolution of the NEA orbit may lead to different evolution tracks.     

月球卫星轨道力学综述

月球探测器的运动通常可分为3个阶段，这3个阶段分别对应3种不同类型的轨道：近地停泊轨道、向月飞行的过渡轨道与环月飞行的月球卫星轨道。近地停泊轨道实为一种地球卫星轨道；过渡轨道则涉及不同的过渡方式(大推力或小推力等)；环月飞行的月球卫星轨道则与地球卫星轨道有很多不同之处，它决不是地球卫星轨道的简单克隆。针对这一点，全面阐述月球卫星的轨道力学问题，特别是环月飞行中的一些热点问题，如轨道摄动解的构造、近月点高度的下降及其涉及的卫星轨道寿命、各种特殊卫星(如太阳同步卫星和冻结轨道卫星等)的轨道特征、月球卫星定轨等。     

An exact solution to determination of an open orbit

We present an exact solution of the equations for orbit determination of a two body system in a hyperbolic or parabolic motion. In solving this problem, we extend the method employed by Asada, Akasaka and Kasai (AAK) for a binary system in an elliptic orbit. The solutions applicable to each of elliptic, hyperbolic and parabolic orbits are obtained by the new approach, and they are all expressed in an explicit form, remarkably, only in terms of elementary functions. We show also that the solutions for an open orbit are recovered by making a suitable transformation of the AAK solution for an elliptic case.     

Optimal deflection of NEOs en route of collision with the Earth

Recently, a method for the n-body analysis of the velocity change required to deflect a hazardous near-Earth object (NEO) was presented by Carusi et al. [Carusi, A., Valsecchi, G.B., D'Abramo, G., Boattini A., 2002. Icarus 159, 417-422]. We extent this method in order to optimize the velocity change vector instead of its along-track magnitude. From an application of both methods to a fictitious NEO we find Carusi's parallel approach to be reasonable for phases of unperturbed two-body motion. But, for orbit phases inhering third-body perturbations, i.e., for planetary close approaches or prior to a collision, the results obtained from the new method show the radial component of deflection impulse to play a major role. We show that a fivefold greater efficiency can be achieved by a deflection impulse being non-parallel to orbital velocity. The new method is applied to two possible 99942 Apophis impact trajectories in order to provide constraints for future Apophis deflection mission analysis.