Apsidal precessionIn celestial mechanics, apsidal precession (or apsidal advance) is the precession (gradual rotation) of the line connecting the apsides (line of apsides) of an astronomical body's orbit. The apsides are the orbital points farthest (apoapsis) and closest (periapsis) from its primary body (therefore it can be also called after any of the apsides). The apsidal precession is the first time derivative of the argument of periapsis, one of the six main orbital elements of an orbit.
Cylindrical coordinate systemA cylindrical coordinate system is a three-dimensional coordinate system that specifies point positions by the distance from a chosen reference axis (axis L in the image opposite), the direction from the axis relative to a chosen reference direction (axis A), and the distance from a chosen reference plane perpendicular to the axis (plane containing the purple section). The latter distance is given as a positive or negative number depending on which side of the reference plane faces the point.
Spherical coordinate systemIn mathematics, a spherical coordinate system is a coordinate system for three-dimensional space where the position of a point is specified by three numbers: the radial distance of that point from a fixed origin; its polar angle measured from a fixed polar axis or zenith direction; and the azimuthal angle of its orthogonal projection on a reference plane that passes through the origin and is orthogonal to the fixed axis, measured from another fixed reference direction on that plane.
State Plane Coordinate SystemThe State Plane Coordinate System (SPCS) is a set of 125 geographic zones or coordinate systems designed for specific regions of the United States. Each state contains one or more state plane zones, the boundaries of which usually follow county lines. There are 108 zones in the contiguous US, with 10 more in Alaska, 5 in Hawaii, one for Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands, and one for Guam. The system is widely used for geographic data by state and local governments. Its popularity is due to at least two factors.
Cartesian coordinate systemIn geometry, a Cartesian coordinate system (UKkɑːrˈtiːzjən, USkɑːrˈtiʒən) in a plane is a coordinate system that specifies each point uniquely by a pair of real numbers called coordinates, which are the signed distances to the point from two fixed perpendicular oriented lines, called coordinate lines, coordinate axes or just axes (plural of axis) of the system. The point where they meet is called the origin and has (0, 0) as coordinates.
Near-Earth objectA near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body whose orbit brings it into proximity with Earth. By convention, a Solar System body is a NEO if its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 astronomical units (AU). If a NEO's orbit crosses the Earth's orbit, and the object is larger than across, it is considered a potentially hazardous object (PHO). Most known PHOs and NEOs are asteroids, but a small fraction are comets. There are over 30,503 known near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and over a hundred known short-period near-Earth comets (NECs).
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being a water world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all of Earth's water is contained in its global ocean, covering 70.8% of Earth's surface. The remaining 29.2% of Earth's surface is land, most of which is located in the form of continental landmasses within one hemisphere, Earth's land hemisphere.
Non-inertial reference frameA non-inertial reference frame is a frame of reference that undergoes acceleration with respect to an inertial frame. An accelerometer at rest in a non-inertial frame will, in general, detect a non-zero acceleration. While the laws of motion are the same in all inertial frames, in non-inertial frames, they vary from frame to frame depending on the acceleration. In classical mechanics it is often possible to explain the motion of bodies in non-inertial reference frames by introducing additional fictitious forces (also called inertial forces, pseudo-forces and d'Alembert forces) to Newton's second law.
Figure of the EarthFigure of the Earth is a term of art in geodesy that refers to the size and shape used to model Earth. The size and shape it refers to depend on context, including the precision needed for the model. A sphere is a well-known historical approximation of the figure of the Earth that is satisfactory for many purposes. Several models with greater accuracy (including ellipsoid) have been developed so that coordinate systems can serve the precise needs of navigation, surveying, cadastre, land use, and various other concerns.
Elliptic coordinate systemIn geometry, the elliptic coordinate system is a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system in which the coordinate lines are confocal ellipses and hyperbolae. The two foci and are generally taken to be fixed at and , respectively, on the -axis of the Cartesian coordinate system. The most common definition of elliptic coordinates is where is a nonnegative real number and On the complex plane, an equivalent relationship is These definitions correspond to ellipses and hyperbolae.
Flat EarthFlat Earth is an archaic and scientifically disproven conception of the Earth's shape as a plane or disk. Many ancient cultures subscribed to a flat-Earth cosmography. The idea of a spherical Earth appeared in ancient Greek philosophy with Pythagoras (6th century BC). However, most pre-Socratics (6th–5th century BC) retained the flat-Earth model. In the early 4th century BC, Plato wrote about a spherical Earth. By about 330 BC, his former student Aristotle had provided strong empirical evidence for a spherical Earth.
Local reference frameIn theoretical physics, a local reference frame (local frame) refers to a coordinate system or frame of reference that is only expected to function over a small region or a restricted region of space or spacetime. The term is most often used in the context of the application of local inertial frames to small regions of a gravitational field.
