Wednesday, January 30, 2013
LaGrangian Points
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This is Helen, the president of our astronomy club. She was the speaker this evening, and her topic was "The LaGrangian Points." She is holding up a globe of the Earth and one of the Moon - they are not to scale of course - the Moon is only 1/4 the diameter of the Earth. You would probably want to know what LaGrangian points are, right? Here is the answer: "The Lagrangian points are the five positions in an orbital configuration where a small object affected only by gravity can theoretically be part of a constant-shape pattern with two larger objects (such as a satellite with respect to the Earth and Moon). The Lagrange points mark positions where the combined gravitational pull of the two large masses provides precisely the centripetal force required to orbit with them." See how much you can learn here?
It may be work, it may be play, it may be near, it may be away. So here is the challenge - to shoot and post one photograph a day on this site. These photographs are a kind of diary of things I find interesting. I am also thinking that there will be days when I am unable to shoot, so on those infrequent occasions, I will post a photograph done on another day, but one that still feels important to me. - Ken Spencer
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6 comments:
Hmmm. Interesting. What other foreign languages do you speak?
Something people should ask themselves when providing information such as the LaGrangian points, is why would people care? How does it affect us? Why is it important? It's always good to learn something new, especially when it's something we're not familiar with, but unless we know how this plays out in our life, it's gibberish. You're so good at explaining most things and giving us all details about things that are so interesting. You could've done the same here, but sorry, you missed the mark this time. Photographs are interesting, but your blog has always had another dimension that makes it so enjoyable - and that's the part where I learn something new.
ditto
double ditto
I could not have explained that any better!
Gulp! Yikes! I was trying to be silly... So knowing about the LaGrangian points for me is part of knowing about how the Solar System and the Universe work. "How does it affect us?" Good question. I can't think of a direct way in which it does, although they do use some of these points for positioning earth-orbiting spacecraft, some of which constantly collect data about our Sun.
Ah, yes. This is Ken's humor loud and clear. I'm married to him, so I should know.
I laughed when I read it!
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