Abstract
In 1693 G. D. Cassini published the three following empirical laws on the Moon’s rotational motion:
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(1)
The Moon rotates uniformly about its polar axis with a rotational period equal to the mean sidereal period of its orbit about the earth.
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(2)
The inclination of the Moon’s equator to the ecliptic is a constant angle approximately 1°5.
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(3)
The ascending node of the lunar orbit on the ecliptic coincides with the descending node of the lunar equator on the ecliptic.
Dedicated to the Memory of Imre Iszak
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References
Cassini, G. D.: 1693, Traité de l’origine et du progrès de l’astronomie. Paris.
Jeffreys, H.: 1953, Monthly Notices Roy. Astron. Soc. 113, 81.
Tisserand,F.: 1986, Traité de Mécanique Céleste IV, Gauthier-Villars, Paris, p. 91 113, 81.
Whipple, F. L.: 1963, Earth, Moon, and Planets. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
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© 1967 D. Reidel Publishing Company
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Colombo, G. (1967). Cassini’s Second and Third Laws. In: Measure of the Moon. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-3529-3_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-3529-3_2
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