Calculations of this phenomenon generally ignore a quadrupole-moment term induced by the oblateness of the Sun. For 10 points each:
[10m] Name this phenomenon whose apsidal form causes a gradual perturbation of an orbiting body’s trajectory over time. General relativity attributes an inverse cubic potential to this phenomenon.
ANSWER: apsidal precession [accept orbital precession]
[10e] Apsidal precession occurs because two-body systems do not perfectly follow this scientist’s inverse-square law describing the gravitational force between two masses.
ANSWER: Isaac Newton [accept Newton’s law of universal gravitation]
[10h] The rate of apsidal precession is proportional to the product of this vector with its time derivative. This vector is a constant of motion for Keplerian orbits.
ANSWER: Laplace–Runge–Lenz (“la-PLOSS ROON-guh LENTS”) vector [or LRL vector or Laplace vector or Runge–Lenz vector]
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