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OATS-UNI/TS SEMINAR
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Speaker: Florian Freistetter (Heidelberg university, D)

Title: Celestial meachanics: from order to chaos
Date: Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Time: 12:00
Venue: Villa Bazzoni

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Abstract: Celestial Mechanics studies the motion of stars, planets, asteroids and other bodies. Since the work of Henri Poincare in the 19th century we know that the motion of more than two bodies is, in general, chaotic and the respective equations can not be solved analytically. Thus, when analysing the motion of celestial bodies one has to consider the interplay of order and chaos. I will give examples for typical chaotic behaviour in the motion of Near-Earth Asteroids and how it constrains the possibilities of long-term predictions (and how to overcome this problems). In an other example, I will show how order and chaos structure the habitable zones of extrasolar planetary systems and finally, I will show how a combined theoretical analysis of the dynamics of asteroids and planets can result in the discovery of a new extrasolar planet.
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contact: Massimo Ramella (OATS)