Abstract
The analytical expression of the gradient line, i.e. the perpendicular to the Moon's zonal equipotential surfaces is derived. Being a sensitive indicator of the geometric structure of the gravitational field, the shape of the trajectory, its direction field and curvature, the points of inflection, etc., are computed at elevations 0 km, 250 km, 1000 km and 10000 km above the Moon's surface. The numerical results were derived from the coefficients of Liu and Laing (1971) and are compared- whenever suitable - with the results obtained from the coefficients of Michaelet al. (1969).
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References
Blackshear, W. T., Daniels, E. F., and Anderson, S. G.: 1971, NASA-TM-X-2260.
Hobson, E. W.: 1955,The Theory of Spherical and Ellipsoidal Harmonics, Chelsea Publishing Co., New York.
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Liu, A. S. and Laing, P. A.: 1971,Science 173, 1017–1020.
Michael, W. H., Jr., Blackshear, W. T., and Gapcynski, J. P.: 1969, Plenary meeting COSPAR, 12th, Prague.
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Köhnlein, W. On the gradient line of the moon's zonal gravitational potential field. The Moon 6, 384–397 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00562213
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00562213