

Ask HN: Celestial Mechanics Book Recommendations  - euroclydon

Recently I've become very interested in celestial mechanics, specifically the Sun/Moon/Earth relationship. For instance, the Moon orbits in the elliptical plane, so it's always between the Sun and the Earth.<p>Here is an example of something I'd like to figure out: three weeks ago it was a new moon, so when it was noon somewhere in North America, <i>if</i> you could look up and see the Moon and Sun, I assume the Moon would appear a little lower in the sky since it's closer to Earth. However, a week ago, it was a full moon, so at midnight the Moon would be at it highest point in the sky, and I think North America would have been swung a lot closer towards the elliptical plane, because of the Earth’s tilt, so the full Moon would appear higher in the sky than the Sun does at noon. Finally, at what point in the Moon's cycle this month, would it's highest elevation in the sky be at the same elevation as the Sun at noon?<p>I'm looking for a good book that will explain all these things with an Earth-centered approach, and teach me the correct terms, like the ones satellite technicians need to know.<p>Thanks!
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RiderOfGiraffes
I would suggest you start with WikiPedia.

Main page: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon>

Relationship with Earth: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Earth-Moon.PNG>

Details of the orbit: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit_of_the_Moon>

Relevant terms and parameters: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Orbit1.svg>

Then decide what you want to know next.

And while I applaud your interest and enthusiasm, why didn't you simply use
Google to get started?

<http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=the+moon>

<http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=the+moon+orbit>

~~~
euroclydon
[Edit] Thanks for the links.

"why didn't you simply use Google to get started"

Because I wanted a book I could sit down with and read. Wikipedia is nice and
I have and will check out these resources, but a book, which someone took the
time to write, often has more character and is more interesting than the web.

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
OK, fair enough. I can't help with any suggestions for books though, sorry.
You might try similar searches on Amazon.

For reference, you'll probably get a better response if you demonstrate that
you've already exhausted or rejected the usual sources of information. That
way people won't track over the same territory needlessly.

------
route66
To develop terminology and understanding of the physical/mathematical problems
you could look into the books of Jean Meeus. "Astronomical Algorithms"
contains, ...well, exactly that: small recipes to solve problems in positional
astronomy or calculate ephemerides. Check Willman Bell publishers for the
english version of his books.

I liked "Celestial Mechanics" by Laurence Taff, but it's calculus-heavy which
is nice if you're interested in the mathematical background and want to see
some practical calculation examples.

Somewhere in the middle between these books is "Astronomical Methods and
Calculations" by Acker and Jaschek. The exercises and solutions in this book
come very close to the example you give.

Apologies for not putting links to the books but just google for author/title.
Or check your local library.

