Celestial Mechanics Leading up to the AAS Division on Dynamical Astronomy

Abstract

This talk reviewed key developments leading to the establishment of the AAS Division on Dynamical Astronomy. In the 1890s, Simon Newcomb calculated astronomical constants and ephemerides for solar system bodies that were internationally adopted and used for 80 yr. The introduction of punch card equipment in the 1940s and computers in the 50s allowed much faster computations. Launches of Sputnik, Explorer, Vanguard, and Mercury satellites led to computing the orbits of satellites around the Earth and the field of astrodynamics. Dirk Brouwer's death in 1966 resulted in the celestial mechanics faculty at Yale spreading across the country. The space program, radar observations, and faster computers propelled advances in celestial mechanics. Teams at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed solar system ephemerides using numerical integrations fit to optical observations and radar ranging measurements. It was time for the AAS Division on Dynamical Astronomy.