92 Chapter 2 The two-body problem

where
µ1 = Gm1 µ2 = Gm2 (2.181)
Substituting Equations 2.180 into 2.179 and canceling out m yields
µ1 µ2
r̈ = − r1 − 3 r2 (2.182)
r13 r2

Finally, we substitute Equation 2.178 on the left and Equations 2.170 and 2.171 on
the right to obtain
µ1  
(ẍ − 2ẏ − 2 x)î + (ÿ + 2ẋ − 2 y)ĵ + z̈ k̂ = − 3 (x + π2 r12 )î + y ĵ + z k̂
r1
µ2  
− 3 (x − π1 r12 )î + y ĵ + z k̂
r2

Equating the coefficients of î, ĵ and k̂ on each side of this equation yields the three
scalar equations of motion for the restricted three-body problem:
µ1 µ2
ẍ − 2ẏ − 2 x = − 3
(x + π2 r12 ) − 3 (x − π1 r12 ) (2.183a)
r1 r2
µ 1 µ 2
ÿ + 2ẋ − 2 y = − 3 y − 3 y (2.183b)
r1 r2
µ1 µ2
z̈ = − 3 z − 3 z (2.183c)
r1 r2

2.12.1 Lagrange points

Although Equations 2.183 have no closed form analytical solution, we can use them
to determine the location of the equilibrium points. These are the locations in space
where the secondary mass m would have zero velocity and zero acceleration, i.e., where
m would appear permanently at rest relative to m1 and m2 (and therefore appear to
an inertial observer to move in circular orbits around m1 and m2 ). Once placed
at an equilibrium point (also called libration point or Lagrange point), a body will
presumably stay there. The equilibrium points are therefore defined by the conditions

ẋ = ẏ = ż = 0 and ẍ = ÿ = z̈ = 0

Substituting these conditions into Equations 2.183 yields

µ1 µ2
−2 x = − 3
(x + π2 r12 ) − 3 (x − π1 r12 ) (2.184a)
r1 r2
µ 1 µ 2
−2 y = − 3 y − 3 y (2.184b)
r1 r2
µ1 µ2
0=− 3z− 3z (2.184c)
r1 r2
 2.12 Restricted three-body problem 93

From Equation 2.184c we have

 
µ1 µ2
+ 3 z=0 (2.185)
r13 r2

Since µ1 /r13 > 0 and µ2 /r23 > 0, it must therefore be true that z = 0. That is, the
equilibrium points lie in the orbital plane.
From Equations 2.169 it is clear that

π1 = 1 − π2 (2.186)

Using this, along with Equation 2.165, and assuming y  = 0, we can write Equations
2.184a and 2.184b as
1 1 x
(1 − π2 )(x + π2 r12 ) + π2 (x + π2 r12 − r12 ) 3 = 3
r13 r2 r12
(2.187)
1 1 1
(1 − π2 ) 3 + π2 3 = 3
r1 r2 r12

where we made use of the fact that

π1 = µ1 /µ π2 = µ2 /µ (2.188)

Treating Equations 2.187 as two linear equations in 1/r13 and 1/r23 , we solve them
simultaneously to find that
1 1 1
3
= 3 = 3
r1 r2 r12
or
r1 = r2 = r12 (2.189)
Using this result, together with z = 0 and Equation 2.186, we obtain from
Equations 2.170 and 2.171, respectively,
2
r12 = (x + π2 r12 )2 + y 2 (2.190)

2
r12 = (x + π2 r12 − r12 )2 + y 2 (2.191)
Equating the right-hand sides of these two equations leads at once to the conclusion
that
r12
x= − π2 r12 (2.192)
2
Substituting this result into Equation 2.190 or 2.191 and solving for y yields
√
3
y=± r12
2
We have thus found two of the equilibrium points, the Lagrange points L4 and L5 .
As Equation 2.189 shows, these points are the same distance r12 from the primary
94 Chapter 2 The two-body problem

bodies m1 and m2 that the primary bodies are from each other, and in the co-moving
coordinate system their coordinates are
√
r12 3
L4 , L5 : x = − π2 r12 , y = ± r12 , z = 0 (2.193)
2 2
Therefore, the two primary bodies and these two Lagrange points lie at the vertices
of equilateral triangles, as illustrated in Figure 2.32.
The remaining equilibrium points are found by setting y = 0 as well as z = 0,
which satisfy both Equations 2.184b and 2.184c. For these values, Equations 2.170
and 2.171 become

r1 = (x + π2 r12 )î
r2 = (x − π1 r12 )î = (x + π2 r12 − r12 )î

Therefore

r1 = |x + π2 r12 |
r2 = |x + π2 r12 − r12 |

Substituting these together with Equations 2.165, 2.186 and 2.188 into Equation
2.184a yields
1 − π2 π2 1
(x + π2 r12 )+ (x + π2 r12 − r12 )− 3 x = 0 (2.194)
|x + π2 r12 |3 |x + π2 r12 − r12 |3 r12
Further simplification is obtained by non-dimensionalizing x,
x
ξ=
r12
In terms of ξ, Equation 2.194 becomes f (ξ) = 0, where
1 − π2 π2
f (ξ) = (ξ + π2 ) + (ξ + π2 − 1) − ξ (2.195)
|ξ + π2 |3 |ξ + π2 − 1|3
The roots of f (ξ) = 0 yields the other equilibrium points besides L4 and L5 . To
find them first requires specifying a value for the mass ratio π2 , and then using a
numerical technique to obtain the roots for that particular value. For example, let the
two primary bodies m1 and m2 be the earth and the moon, respectively. Then

m1 = 5.974 × 1024 kg
m2 = 7.348 × 1022 kg (2.196)
r12 = 3.844 × 105 km

(from Table A.1) using this data, we find

m2
π2 = = 0.01215
m1 + m 2
Substituting this value of π2 into Equation 2.195 and plotting the function yields the
curves shown in Figure 2.31. By carefully determining where various branches of the
 2.12 Restricted three-body problem 95

f(ξ)

Earth–moon
1 center of mass
L2
L3
1.005
0.8369
ξ
0 1.156
1 0.5 0.5 1
L1
1

Figure 2.31 Graph of Equation 2.195 for earth–moon data (π2 = 0.01215), showing the three real roots.

L4
Moon's orbit
km

relative to earth
384
400

400
384

km

381 600 km 449 100 km

L3 Apse 60° L1 Moon L2

Earth
line
60°
326 400 km
384

km
400

400
km

384

L5

Figure 2.32 Location of the five Lagrange points of the earth–moon system. These points orbit the earth
with the same period as the moon.

curve cross the ξ axis, we find the real roots, which are the three additional Lagrange
points for the earth–moon system, all lying on the apse line:
L1 : x = 0.8369r12 = 3.217 × 105 km
L2 : x = 1.156r12 = 4.444 × 105 km (2.197)
L3 : x = −1.005r12 = −3.863 × 105 km
The locations of the five Lagrange points for the earth–moon system are shown
in Figure 2.32. For convenience, all of their positions are shown relative to the center
of the earth, instead of the center of mass. As can be seen from Equation 2.168a, the
96 Chapter 2 The two-body problem

center of mass of the earth–moon system is only 4670 km from the center of the earth.
That is, it lies within the earth at 73 percent of its radius. Since the Lagrange points
are fixed relative to the earth and moon, they follow circular orbits around the earth
with the same period as the moon.
If an equilibrium point is stable, then a small mass occupying that point will tend
to return to that point if nudged out of position. The perturbation results in a small
oscillation (orbit) about the equilibrium point. Thus, objects can be placed in small
orbits (called halo orbits) around stable equilibrium points without requiring much
in the way of station keeping. On the other hand, if a body located at an unstable
equilibrium point is only slightly perturbed, it will oscillate in a divergent fashion,
drifting eventually completely away from that point. It turns out that the Lagrange
points L1 , L2 and L3 on the apse line are unstable, whereas L4 and L5 – 60◦ ahead of
and behind the moon in its orbit – are stable. However, L4 and L5 are destabilized
by the influence of the sun’s gravity, so that in actuality station keeping would be
required to maintain position in the neighborhood of those points.
Solar observation spacecraft have been placed in halo orbits around the L1 point
of the sun–earth system. L1 lies about 1.5 million kilometers from the earth (1/100 the
distance to the sun) and well outside the earth’s magnetosphere. Three such missions
were the International Sun–Earth Explorer 3 (ISSE-3) launched in August 1978; the
Solar and Heliocentric Observatory (SOHO) launched in December 1995; and the
Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) launched in August 1997.

2.12.2 Jacobi constant

Multiply Equation 2.183a by ẋ, Equation 2.183b by ẏ and Equation 2.183c by ż to
obtain
µ1 µ2
ẍ ẋ − 2ẋ ẏ − 2 x ẋ = − 3 (x ẋ + π2 r12 ẋ) − 3 (x ẋ − π1 r12 ẋ)
r1 r2
µ 1 µ 2
ÿ ẏ + 2ẋ ẏ − 2 y ẏ = − 3 y ẏ − 3 y ẏ
r1 r2
µ1 µ2
z̈ ż = − 3 z ż − 3 z ż
r1 r2
Sum the left and right sides of these equations to get
   
µ1 µ2   π 1 µ2 π 2 µ1
ẍ ẋ+ÿ ẏ+z̈ ż−2 (x ẋ + y ẏ) = − 3 + 3 x ẋ + y ẏ + z ż +r12 − ẋ
r1 r2 r23 r13
or, rearranging terms,
µ1
ẍ ẋ + ÿ ẏ + z̈ ż − 2 (x ẋ + y ẏ) = − (x ẋ + y ẏ + z ż + π2 r12 ẋ)
r13
µ2
− 3 (x ẋ + y ẏ + z ż − π1 r12 ẋ) (2.198)
r2
Note that
1 d 2 1 dv2
ẍ ẋ + ÿ ẏ + z̈ ż = (ẋ + ẏ 2 + ż 2 ) = (2.199)
2 dt 2 dt