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If there is no incoming gravitational radiation, according to general relativity, two bodies orbiting one another will emit gravitational radiation, causing the orbits to gradually lose energy. The formulae describing the loss of energy and angular momentum due to gravitational radiation from the two bodies of the Kepler problem have been ...
One set of tests focuses on effects predicted by general relativity for the behavior of gyroscopes travelling through space. One of these effects, geodetic precession, has been tested with the Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment (high-precision measurements of the orbit of the Moon). Another, which is related to rotating masses, is called frame-dragging
Gravitational redshift has been measured in the laboratory [65] and using astronomical observations. [66] Gravitational time dilation in the Earth's gravitational field has been measured numerous times using atomic clocks, [67] while ongoing validation is provided as a side effect of the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS). [68]
Vesta and Pallas are nonetheless sometimes considered small terrestrial planets anyway by sources preferring a geophysical definition, because they do share similarities to the rocky planets of the inner solar system. [56] The fourth-largest asteroid, Hygiea (radius 216.5 ± 4 km), is icy.
In tightly packed planetary systems, the gravitational pull of the planets among themselves causes one planet to accelerate and another planet to decelerate along its orbit. The acceleration causes the orbital period of each planet to change. Detecting this effect by measuring the change is known as transit-timing variations.
(As planets and natural satellites form pairs of comparable mass, the distance 'r' is measured from the common centers of mass of each pair rather than the direct total distance between planet centers.) If one mass is much larger than the other, it is convenient to take it as observational reference and define it as source of a gravitational ...
The net result is that an object at the Equator experiences a weaker gravitational pull than an object on one of the poles. In combination, the equatorial bulge and the effects of the surface centrifugal force due to rotation mean that sea-level gravity increases from about 9.780 m/s 2 at the Equator to about 9.832 m/s 2 at the poles, so an ...
h is the specific angular momentum, one of the constants of two-body motion. Next define =, where [19] μ = G(M + m), a gravitational parameter, [note 2] where G is Newton's gravitational constant, M is the mass of the primary body (i.e., the Sun), m is the mass of the secondary body (i.e., a planet), and