Re: Hey Mr. Hyde!

From: T.M. Sommers (tms2_at_mail.ptd.net)
Date: 03/21/04 

Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 10:07:26 -0500

Evenbit wrote:
>
> 1) It's moon, Charon, doesn't exactly orbit Pluto so much as BOTH
> Pluto and Charon orbit a common spot

That is true of any two bodies orbiting each other, such as the
Sun and the Earth. The two bodies actually orbit the center of
mass of the system. In the case of the Sun/Earth system
(neglecting for the moment the other planets), the center of mass
is very close to the center of the Sun, so for many applications
the difference can be ignored.

> behind. If you place a satellite in one of these Lagrange points, you
> would not have to stockpile large quantities of fuel onboard for the
> satelite to use in its retro-rockets so that it can stay in orbit --
> it would automatically stay in orbit indefinitely without the need for
> retro-rockets.

Again, that is true of any orbiting body, neglecting friction
(which can be done if the orbit is high enough), tidal forces
(which can be done if the object is small enough), and
interactions with other bodies. 

-- 
Thomas M. Sommers -- tms2@ptd.net -- AB2SB

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