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Re: Lagrangian Points
Hi Ed, Doug, list,
>Ed wrote:
>>That's the question: Does the solar wind disperse
>>all the gases, or do some of them accrete and fall
>>to Earth?
>
>So, the L5 point is so stable it accumulates all this gas, which forms
>small comets, which then just 'fall to Earth' from this stable point?
>
>Doug
I've been intrigued for some time about the physics of Lagrangian points,
and have yet to find the right reading matter to do my homework. Does
anyone on the list have a tip?
My current conceptual model is that an L-point is a shallow gravity well,
meaning that an object that has low enough energy will tend to stay in it,
but one entering from far away would pass thru it without being captured
UNLESS something happens to retard it (collision, retrorocket, or ??).
When I first heard about SOHO being stationed at an L-point, I wondered
whether this meant it was camped out in a swarm of space junk, subject to
collisions and interference with its lines of sight, but this is apparently
not an issue. The "stability" of an L-point should not be compared to a
magnet or a vacuum cleaner which actively pulls objects in and keeps them
there. Almost all objects approaching an L-point would go right thru the
zone of stability and out the other side.
I can also easily imagine that the stability of an object "trapped" at an
L-point is not necessarily all that great, and that sufficient disturbing
force (collision, gravitational influence of another planet, etc.) would
nudge it out of the gravity well.
Any comments on this model from the "real scientists" out there?
Best regards,
Piper
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