Definition
The barycenter of the Earth-Moon system is the center of mass between the Earth and the Moon. The two bodies orbit this point between them. The barycenter is located within the radius of the Earth around 5000 km from the center of the planet. As the Moon’s orbit evolves to move the body farther from the planet, the barycenter also moves away from the center of the Earth. The ratio of masses between the Earth and Moon (1:81) is much larger than those for all other planets in the solar system (<1:4000) making the barycenter unique among the planets.
Barycenters
A barycenter (literally “heavy center” in Ancient Greek) is the center of mass of more than one astronomical body in an orbital system. The barycenter of the Earth-Moon system is about 5000 km away from the center of the Earth, around 75% of its radius.
In an N-body system, with the assumption that all forces acting on the bodies are caused by other bodies in the system, the net force must be equal to 0 in accordance...
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Connors, N. (2023). Barycenter of the Earth-Moon System. In: Cudnik, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Lunar Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14541-9_151
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