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> Utilizing thrust every three weeks or so from small rocket engines aboard Webb will keep it orbiting L2[...] Yes, because L2 is not a point of stable equilib
by marcodiego 5y ago
> Utilizing thrust every three weeks or so from small rocket engines aboard Webb will keep it orbiting L2[...]
Yes, because L2 is not a point of stable equilibrium. This means an object left there will have a local tendency of leaving its position the more it gets way from it, like the top of a round hill. OTOH, Lagrange points L4 and L5 are points of stable equilibrium. This means an object left there will have a local tendency of returning to its position the more it gets way from it, like the bottom of a round pit.
Considering the age of the Earth, it is very likely that the Sun-Earth L4 and L5 Lagrange points store an accumulated material that was captured by the local "gravity well". I wonder what kind of stones and dust may lie there.
Why has it never been explored?
- spuz 5y agoIn October, NASA launched the mission Lucy which will study the Trojan asteroids which have sat in the L4 and L5 points between Jupiter and the Sun since the beginning of the solar system. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/lucy/main/index https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/lucy/main/index https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbwSSdtWUNE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbwSSdtWUNE
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- gameswithgo 5y agohttps://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3591 https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3591
- samwillis 5y agoThere are two "Trojan" astroids oscillating around L4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_TK7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_TK7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_XL5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_XL5 This is a good list of objects at Lagrange points, bit of a Wikipedia hole: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_objects_at_Lagrange_points https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_objects_at_Lagrange_po...
- hoseja 5y agoL4 and 5 are perturbed by the rest of the Solar system, mainly Jupiter, so not much long-term accumulation should be expected.
- roelschroeven 5y agoIt's not the only reason to orbit L2 instead of staying at L2. Webb needs enough light from the sun on its solar panels to power its instruments, so it needs to stay out of the Earth's shadow.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]