Taking both a theoretical and observational perspective, this book is an introduction to recent developments in the field of celestial mechanics. It emphasizes the application to extended celestial bodies and devotes much attention to rotational aspects. In particular, it explains the state of art for accurate modelling of the rotation of celestial bodies such as the Earth, the Moon, and Mercury, which involves principles related to hydrodynamics and geodesy. Comparisons between the light curves of the asteroids and their rotational state are made and spatial techniques leading to the determination of the Earth's gravitational field are explained. Also, the book provides a general overview of the collisional processes in the solar system and of the dynamics of the rings. It is addressed to graduate students and researchers in space sciences and celestial dynamics.

Inhalt

Spinning Bodies: A Tutorial.- Physics of the Earth's Interior, Deformation and Rotation.- Modelling and Characterizing the Earth's Gravity Field: From Basic Principles to Current Purposes.- Asteroids from Observations to Models.- Modelling Collisions Between Asteroids: From Laboratory Experiments to Numerical Simulations.- Geometric Conditions for Quasi-Collisions in öpik's Theory.- The Synchronous Rotation of the Moon.- The Spin-Orbit Rotation of Mercury.- Dynamics of Planetary Rings.