Non-Spherical Gravitational Potential

Author: Tianjiang Shuo

Website: https://cislunarspace.cn

Definition

Additional gravitational potential caused by a celestial body's oblateness and non-uniform mass distribution, after removing the point-mass gravity. The J₂ terms of the Earth and Moon are the dominant components. In libration point orbit prediction, although these perturbations are small (on the order of 10⁻⁷), neglecting them introduces systematic bias and alters the error divergence pattern.

Application Value

Based on its definition, additional gravitational potential caused by a celestial body's oblateness and non-uniform mass distribution, after removing the point-mass gravity. the j₂ terms of the earth and moon are the dominant.

Related Concepts

• 轨道力学（Orbital Mechanics）
• 坐标系（Coordinate Frame）
• 积分（Integration）

References

• 邓辉 等 - 2017 - 地月系共线平动点探测器的星上轨道预报问题