14: General Perturbation Theory
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- 14.4: Lagrange's Planetary Equations
- Lagrange’s Planetary Equations enable us to calculate the rates of change of the orbital elements if we know the form of the perturbing function.
Thumbnail: Animation showing the relationship between the five Lagrangian points (red) of a planet (blue) orbiting a star (yellow), and the gravitational potential in the plane containing the orbit (grey surface with purple contours of equal potential). (CC BY-SA 4.0; cmglee).