On the discrete outer gravity field

Summary

In the present paper the gravity field of the earth in the neighbourhood of the local disturbing masses is studied. The object of the method presented consists of the approximation of the disturbing potentialT _h , which fulfils Laplace's equation outside disturbing masses, on the earth's surface the fundamental boundary value condition of gravity and in infinity it is to be regular by the approximation of the disturbing potential (or by the discrete disturbing potential)T _h , which fulfils the respective finite difference approximation of Laplace's equation and the boundary value conditions in infinity and on the earth's surface. It is also shown that the approximation of the disturbing potentialT _h has the same properties as the disturbing potentialT. The method under consideration will be derived quite generally without any hypothesis about the distribution of the mass between the earth's surface and the geoid. It commences from the gravity data related to the earth's surface only-from the given geodetic measurements.