Re: [Phys-l] Lagrange points

[Patrick Keeney <coachk23@yahoo.com>]

The ACE spacecraft is also at a Lagrange point.

 Pat Keeney - Instructional Designer, K12.com 
USRA Educational Consultant to Astrophysics Science Division, NASA/GSFC
coachk23@yahoo.com
Freedom lies in being bold. - Robert Frost



----- Original Message ----
From: John Clement <clement@hal-pc.org>
To: Forum for Physics Educators <phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu>
Sent: Wed, December 2, 2009 9:39:53 PM
Subject: [Phys-l] Lagrange points

I recently read an article about scientific innovations in the recent Time
magazine while waiting in the optometrists orbit.  One innovation was an
infrared observatory which is stationed at a Lagrange point where the
"Earth's gravitational force balances the sun's".

So I checked online and came up with a hit on the Brittanica

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/524909/satellite-observatory
" the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO; 1995) was maneuvered to the
vicinity of a gravitational balance point (L1, one of the Sun-Earth
Lagrangian points)"

The Wikipedia explains the Lagrangian points correctly!

Where are the scientific proofreaders?  The writers would fail the FCI
because they don't seem to know that when the forces balance the object goes
in a straight line and will NOT orbit.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

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