Osculation

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The osculation ( Latin , "kissing", "snuggling") is in geometry the partial approximation of a more complicated curve by a more easily definable one .

Oskulation is then in particular "the contact of a flat curve through a circle ( osculation circle , circle of curvature ) or a flat curve with double curvature through a conic section or a non-flat spatial curve through a plane ( osculation plane ) when three common points of both structures coincide at the point of contact . "Instead they say osculation osculation well and speaks of osculating circles , osculating planes or osculating balls .

Celestial mechanics

In celestial mechanics , in particular, the simplest osculating orbit of a celestial body is the oscillating Keplerellipse , which ideally hugs the current orbit of a celestial body. It can be precisely described by Kepler's three laws and by six orbit elements (two each for the conic section and the orbital plane , one each for the passage of the perihelion and the associated time). These values ​​then apply to the osculation epoch , that is the epoch for which the dates are intended.

Due to various orbital disturbances ( gravitational influences from other celestial bodies, braking gas, radiation pressure from the sun and the earth's albedo, etc.) the actual orbit does not exactly follow a Keplerellipse. If an ellipse is adapted to the path at different points in time , these oscillating paths merge continuously - and the numerical values ​​of the six path elements change slowly.

This variation of the elements is used to model the orbital disturbances that are always present in astronomy , geodesy and space travel . This enables precise predictions of orbits and the physical exploration of planets .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Entry in True Foreign Words Dictionary . Retrieved March 3, 2018 .
  2. ^ Entry in Meyers Konversations-Lexikon , verbatim with additions.