Space exploration began with the launch of Sputnik and Astrophysics was born as the application of physics to the phenomena observed by Astronomy, which etymologically means laws of the stars.
There are 2759 entries in this glossary.| Term | Definition |
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| N-Body Problem |
A general term for calculations involving the gravitational interaction of an arbitrary number n of masses. The motion of two bodies is easily analysed and solutions exist for certain cases of three-body interaction. For VALUES (of n greater than 2, there are no general solutions and particular cases necessitate vast amounts of computation. Examples in astronomy requiring the solution of n-body problems are the motion of a space probe in the solar system, and the orbits of stars within a cluster.
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