Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of celestial objects. Historically, celestial mechanics applies principles of physics (classical mechanics) to astronomical objects, such as stars and planets, to produce ephemeris data. As an astronomical field of study, celestial mechanics includes the sub-fields of Orbital mechanics (astrodynamics), which deals with the orbit of an artificial satellite; and Lunar theory, which deals with the orbit of the Moon.

History of celestial mechanics

Modern analytic celestial mechanics started over 300 years ago with Isaac Newton's Principia of 1687. The name "celestial mechanics" is more recent than that. Newton wrote that the field should be called "rational mechanics." The term "dynamics" came in a little later with Gottfried Leibniz, and over a century after Newton, Pierre-Simon Laplace introduced the term "celestial mechanics." Prior to Kepler there was little connection between exact, quantitative prediction of planetary positions, using geometrical or arithmetical techniques, and contemporary discussions of the physical causes of the planets' motion.

Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy is a scientific journal covering the fields of astronomy and astrophysics. It was established as Celestial Mechanics in June 1969. The journal is published by Springer Science+Business Media and the editor-in-chief is Sylvio Ferraz-Mello (University of São Paulo).

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed in:

According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2012 impact factor of 2.319.

References

External links