The problem of the moon's orbit was one that Leonhard Euler (1707-83) returned to repeatedly throughout his life. It provided a testing ground for Newton's theory of gravitation. Could the motion of the moon be entirely accounted for by Newton's theory? Or, as Euler initially suspected, did other forces need to be invoked? For practical purposes, if the moon's orbit could be accurately predicted, its motion would provide the universal timekeeper required to solve the longitude problem. In addition to the mathematical 'three-body problem', a topic still under investigation today, Euler was faced with the statistical problem of reconciling observations rendered inconsistent by experimental error. The present work, published in Latin in 1753, is Euler's triumphant solution. It may not be the last word on a subject which has occupied mathematicians and astronomers for over three centuries, but it showed that Newton's laws were sufficient to explain lunar motion.
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ISBN-13
978-1-107-32387-2 (9781107323872)
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Praefatio; Introductio; 1. De motu corporis a viribus quibuscunque sollicitati; 2. Investigatio virium lunam sollicitantium; 3. Introductio anomaliae verae lunae in precedentes aequationes; 4. Investigatio inaequalitatis lunae absolutae, quae variatio dicitur; 5. Investigatio inaequalitatum lunae ab eius excentricitate simplici solum pendentium; 6. Investigatio inaequalitatum lunae a quadrato excentricitatis ipsius ortarum; 7. Correctio inaequalitatum lunae hactenus inventarum; 8. De motu apogei lunae; 9. Investigatio inaequalitatum lunae a sola excentricitate orbitae solis pendentium; 10. Investigatio inaequalitatum lunae ab utriusque orbitae excentricitate simul pendentium; 11. Investigatio inaequalitatum lunae a parallaxi solis pendentium; 12. Investigatio inaequalitatum motum lineae nodorum afficientium; 13. Investigatio inclinationis orbitae lunaris as eclipticam cum eius variatione; 14. Investigatio inaequalitatum lunae ab eius inclinatione ad eclipticam oriundarum; 15. Accuratior investigatio inaequalitatum lunae ab inclinatione eius orbitae pendentium; 16. Expositio inaequalitatumlunae hactenus inventarum; 17. Investigatio elementorum motus lunae; 18. Constitutio elementorum pro tabulis lunaribus; Additamentum.
