Circular and Elliptic Restricted Three Body Problems -- A Comparison

Abstract

The elliptic restricted three body problem has been well studied. However, the previous formulations of the problem have used a rotating coordinate system to keep the positions of the primary and secondary on the x-axis. This requires the rotation rate of the rotating coordinate system to speed up and slow down. The approach here uses a rotating coordinate system with constant rotation rate. This formulation allows one to conveniently compare solutions of the elliptic problem with solutions of the circular restricted three body problem.