Talk:Barycentric coordinates (astronomy)

Two body problem - examples

edit

This article mentions, in the examples, that "The Earth has a perceptible "wobble"; see tides.". This implies that this is the primary cause of tides, however the Tides page does not mention the wobble, and [page on misconceptions about tides] that is linked from the Tides page specifically says that this has a very minor affect on tides relative to the gravitational pull on the earth and seas. I would suggest removing the "see tides." part of the page. HughMacdonald (talk) 11:14, 20 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

Balancing masses

edit

I'm no expert in this field, but when I read the phrase 'where the massess balance' I think of the L1 point. Maybe it's just me, but wouldn't an explanation in terms of the the centre of mass alone be more accurate? MalachiK (talk) 08:30, 25 October 2012 (UTC)Reply

Earth-Moon barycenter: 4,661 km from Earth's center, ~74% of Earth's radius

edit

I tweaked the following... "The Moon does not orbit the exact center of the Earth, but a point on a line between the center of the Earth and the Moon, approximately 1,710 km below the surface of the Earth 4,661 km from Earth's center, ~74% of Earth's radius), where their respective masses balance. This is the point about which the Earth and Moon orbit as they travel around the Sun." - Benjamin Franklin 65.34.181.75 (talk) 13:56, 21 June 2014 (UTC)Reply