Overview
The Hill–Brown theory of the Moon’s motion was constructed in the years from 1877 to 1908, and adopted as the basis for the lunar ephemerides in the nautical almanacs of the US, UK, Germany, France, and Spain beginning in 1923. At that time and for some decades afterward, it was the most accurate lunar theory ever constructed. Its accuracy was due, rst, to a novel choice of “intermediary orbit” or rst approxi- tion, more nearly closing in on the Moon’s actual motion than any elliptical orbit ever could, and secondly to the care and discernment and stick-to-it-ive-ness with which the further approximations (“perturbations” to this initial orbit) had been computed and assembled so as yield a nal theory approximating the Moon’s path in real space with an accuracy of a hundredth of an arc-second or better. The method by which the Hill–Brown lunar theory was developed held the potentiality for still greater accuracy. The intermediary orbit of the Hill–Brown theory may be described as a periodic solution of a simpli ed three-body problem, with numerical parameters carried to 15 decimal places. George William Hill, a young American mathematician working for the U. S. Nautical Almanac Of ce, had proposed it, and computed the numerical parameters to their 15 places. A self-effacing loner, he had in his privately pursued studies come to see that the contemporary attempts at predicting the Moon’s motion were guaranteed to fail in achieving a lunar ephemeris of the accuracy desired.
Full Product Details
Author: Curtis Wilson
Publisher: Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Imprint: Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
Edition: 2010 ed.
Dimensions:
Width: 15.50cm
, Height: 1.80cm
, Length: 23.50cm
Weight: 0.522kg
ISBN: 9781461426141
ISBN 10: 1461426146
Pages: 323
Publication Date: 05 September 2012
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
From the reviews: This is the second book on historical aspects of lunar theory to have been published by Springer within a twelve-month period. ... the text is largely accessible without specialist knowledge of its central themes. ... this text is mainly one for specialists. ... the history of lunar theory introduces many fascinating ideas, and it refers very many creative mathematicians and astronomers. (Peter Ruane, The Mathematical Association of America, August, 2010) This excellent book is a cornerstone in the history of astronomy. It deals with the Hill-Brown theory of the Moon's motion between 1877 and 1984. ... This lively written book contains many biographical notes and well-founded historical comments, and thus can be recommended to amateurs in astronomy and science history, and to instructors and scholars interested in the rapid development of astronomy and physics. (Johannes Viktor Feitzinger, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1202, 2011)
From the reviews: This is the second book on historical aspects of lunar theory to have been published by Springer within a twelve-month period. ... the text is largely accessible without specialist knowledge of its central themes. ... this text is mainly one for specialists. ... the history of lunar theory introduces many fascinating ideas, and it refers very many creative mathematicians and astronomers. (Peter Ruane, The Mathematical Association of America, August, 2010)
