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Torque-induced precession (gyroscopic precession) is the phenomenon in which the axis of a spinning object (e.g., a gyroscope) describes a cone in space when an external torque is applied to it. The phenomenon is commonly seen in a spinning toy top , but all rotating objects can undergo precession.
Precession causes the stars to change their longitude slightly each year, so the sidereal year is longer than the tropical year. Using observations of the equinoxes and solstices, Hipparchus found that the length of the tropical year was 365+1/4−1/300 days, or 365.24667 days (Evans 1998, p. 209).
Under Newtonian physics, an object in an (isolated) two-body system, consisting of the object orbiting a spherical mass, would trace out an ellipse with the center of mass of the system at a focus of the ellipse. The point of closest approach, called the periapsis (or when the central body is the Sun, perihelion), is fixed. Hence the major axis ...
An example of precession and nutation is the variation over time of the orientation of the axis of rotation of the Earth. This is important because the most commonly used frame of reference for measurement of the positions of astronomical objects is the Earth's equator — the so-called equatorial coordinate system. The effect of precession and ...
de Sitter precession a general relativistic correction accounting for the Schwarzschild metric of curved space time near a large non-rotating mass. Lense-Thirring precession a general relativistic correction accounting for the frame dragging by the Kerr metric of curved space time near a large rotating mass.
Pages in category "Precession" The following 14 pages are in this category, out of 14 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. ...
This third force causes the particle's elliptical orbit to precess (cyan orbit) in the direction of its rotation; this effect has been measured in Mercury, Venus and Earth. The yellow dot within the orbits represents the center of attraction, such as the Sun. The orbital precession rate may be derived using this radial effective potential V.
The nodal precession of more massive, natural satellites like the Moon is more complex. Around a spherical body, an orbital plane would remain fixed in space around the gravitational primary body. However, most bodies rotate, which causes an equatorial bulge. This bulge creates a gravitational effect that causes orbits to precess around the ...