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madsmh
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How does one correct for tidal forces when (classically) simulating the orbits of solar system bodies?
Calculating and predicting the change in lunar rotation and orbit seems to be fairly do-able or so they claim.mfb said:Tidal forces don't affect the motion of the center of mass unless the object is notably different from a sphere. If that is relevant, just calculate how large the effect is and take it into account.
I would expect an issue with the integration scheme. How does the difference change if you change the step size? How many moons with mutual interactions do you consider? Do you consider the other planets?madsmh said:Thanks, can you point me to some resources on how to do that?
I am making a solar system simulator, and the errors I get when simulating the larger moons of Jupiter are about the diameter of their orbits when simulating three years. I have made some animations and can see that they fall behind their reference positions quite early in the simulations. And my current hypothesis is that it's due to tidal effects.
Huh?madsmh said:6 Saturn: 179597 km
An orbit simulation is a computer-generated model that simulates the motion of objects in space, typically planets or satellites, around a central body such as a star. It takes into account the gravitational forces between the objects and their respective masses, as well as other factors such as their velocities and initial positions.
Tidal forces are caused by the difference in gravitational pull on an object from the side nearest to the central body compared to the side farthest from the central body. These forces can affect the shape and stability of an object's orbit, causing it to become more elongated or even leading to its eventual collision with the central body.
Planetary oblateness, also known as flattening, is the measure of how much a planet deviates from a perfect sphere. This is caused by the planet's rotation, which causes a bulging at the equator and flattening at the poles. It can affect the orbit of a planet by introducing small perturbations due to the uneven distribution of mass.
Planetary oblateness and tidal forces are both factors that can affect the stability and shape of an orbit. The oblateness of a planet can cause variations in the strength of tidal forces, leading to changes in the orbit's eccentricity and precession. Similarly, tidal forces can also contribute to the flattening of a planet by redistributing its mass.
Orbit simulations can accurately predict the motion of objects in space over short periods of time. However, factors such as planetary oblateness and tidal forces can cause long-term changes in orbits that are difficult to predict. Therefore, while orbit simulations can provide insights into the behavior of planetary orbits, they are limited in their ability to make long-term predictions.