Perturbation (astronomy)
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In astronomy, perturbation is the complex motion of a massive body subjected to forces other than the gravitational attraction of a single other massive body. The other forces can include a third body
Gravity Simulator plot of the changing orbital eccentricity of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars over the next 50,000 years. The zero-point on this plot is the year 2007.
Orbit of the Moon
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The orbit of the Moon is, while stable and known, highly complex, and as such still studied by lunar theory. Most models describe the Moon's orbit geocentrically since the Moon is mainly bound to Eart
Perturbation (astronomy)
…passes another in its orbit. This causes the bodies to follow motions that are periodic or quasi-periodic – such as the Moon in its strongly perturbed orbit, which is the subject of lunar theory. This periodic nature led to the discovery of Neptune in 1846 as a result of its perturbations of the orbit of…
Orbital dynamics of the Moon, with exaggerated paths and sizes, particularly illustrating that the Moon's orbit is on average slightly more outbound than inbound around the Sun, perturbed by Earth.
The local curvature of the Moon’s trajectory (a), since being pulled towards the Sun, and not (b) away from the Sun by Earth, or (c) equal to zero, occurring when the gravitational pulls of the Sun and Earth are the same magnitude.
Lunar orbit and path area, with nodes
Full Moon 2010