An Introduction to Celestial Mechanics

Richard Fitzpatrick is Professor of Physics at the University of Texas, Austin, where he has been a faculty member since 1994. He earned his Master's degree in Physics at the University of Cambridge and his DPhil in Astronomy at the University of Sussex. He is a longstanding Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and author of Maxwell's Equations and the Principles of Electromagnetism (2008).

• Preface; 1. Newtonian mechanics; 2. Newtonian gravity; 3. Keplerian orbits; 4. Orbits in central force-fields; 5. Rotating reference frames; 6. Lagrangian mechanics; 7. Rigid body rotation; 8. Three-body problem; 9. Secular perturbation theory; 10. Lunar motion; Appendix A: useful mathematics; Appendix B: derivation of Lagrange planetary equations; Appendix C: expansion of orbital evolution equations; Bibliography; Index.

'Fitzpatrick presents a clear exposition of the main principles of celestial mechanics … Each chapter ends with a number of well-thought-out problems with a nice range of difficulty from straightforward to quite challenging. The author designed the book for upper-level undergraduates and beginning graduate students who have completed courses in classical mechanics and multivariate vector calculus. Professionals from other branches of astronomy will also find this a handy review and reference … Highly recommended.' R. R. Erickson, Choice