diff --git a/doc/user_guide/normal_gravity.rst b/doc/user_guide/normal_gravity.rst index 25559bb2..78a9a557 100644 --- a/doc/user_guide/normal_gravity.rst +++ b/doc/user_guide/normal_gravity.rst @@ -91,7 +91,8 @@ And plotted with :mod:`pygmt`: particularly useful for geophysics. These calculations can be performed for any oblate ellipsoid (see -:ref:`ellipsoids`). Here is the normal gravity of the Martian ellipsoid: +:ref:`ellipsoids`). Here is an example for the normal gravity of the Martian +ellipsoid: .. jupyter-execute:: @@ -109,10 +110,18 @@ These calculations can be performed for any oblate ellipsoid (see Notice that the overall trend is the same as for the Earth (the Martian -ellipsoid is also oblate) but the range of values is different. The mean +ellipsoid is slightly more oblate than Earth) but the range of values +is different. The mean gravity on Mars is much weaker than on the Earth: around 370,000 mGal or 3.7 m/s² when compared to 970,000 mGal or 9.7 m/s² for the Earth. +The computations of the gravimetric quantities in boule are accurate for oblate +ellipsoids with flattenings that are arbitrarily small. In fact, even a +flattening of zero is permissible. Whereas the standard textbook equations +become numerically unstable when the flattening is less than about +:math:`1-^{-7}`, boule makes use of approximate equations in the low flattening +limit that do not suffer any numerical limitations. + .. admonition:: Assumptions for oblate ellipsoids :class: important @@ -132,16 +141,28 @@ Spheres ------- Method :meth:`boule.Sphere.normal_gravity` performs the normal gravity -calculations for spheres. It behaves mostly the same as the oblate ellipsoid -version except that the latitude is a *geocentric spherical latitude* instead -of a geodetic latitude (for spheres they are actually the same thing). +calculations for spheres. This method behaves mostly the same as the oblate +ellipsoid version, with two exceptions. First, spherical coordinates are +used in the case of a sphere, and the latitude coordinate corresponds to +*geocentric spherical latitude*. Geodetic and spherical latitude are, in fact, +the same for an ellipsoid with zero flattening. + +Second, boule makes the assumption that the interior density distribution of +the planet varies only as a function of radius. Because of this, the normal +gravitation potential is constant on the sphere surface, but the normal gravity +potential (which includes the centrifugal potential) is not. + +One planetary object that makes use of the Sphere class is the Moon. This +example computes the normal gravity of the Moon at 45 degrees latitude +and for heights between 0 and 1 km above the reference radius. .. jupyter-execute:: gamma = bl.Moon2015.normal_gravity(latitude=45, height=height) print(gamma) -This is what the normal gravity of Moon looks like on a map: +This is what the normal gravity of Moon looks like in map form, 10 km above +the surface: .. jupyter-execute:: @@ -162,22 +183,26 @@ This is what the normal gravity of Moon looks like on a map: Normal gravity of spheres is calculated under the following assumptions: + * The :term:`gravitational potential` is constant on the surface of the + ellipsoid. + * The internal density structure is unspecified but must be either + homogeneous or vary only as a function of radius (e.g., in concentric + layers). * The normal gravity is the magnitude of the gradient of the :term:`gravity potential` of the sphere. - * The internal density structure is unspecified but must be either - homogeneous or vary radially (e.g., in concentric layers). - A constant gravity potential on the surface of a rotating sphere is not - possible. Therefore, the normal gravity calculated for a sphere is - different than that of an oblate ellipsoid (hence why we need a separate - method of calculation). + **Important:** Unlike an ellipsoid, the normal gravity potential of a + sphere is not constant on its surface, and the normal gravity vector is + not perpendicular to the surface. + Gravity versus gravitation ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ -Notice that the variation between poles and equator is much smaller than for -the Earth or Mars. -That's because the **variation is due solely to the centrifugal acceleration**. +Notice that the variation of the normal gravity between the poles and equator +for the Moon is much smaller than for the Earth or Mars. +That's because the **variation is due solely to the centrifugal acceleration**, +and the angular rotation rate of the Moon is small. We can see this clearly when we calculate the **normal gravitation** (without the centrifugal component) using :meth:`boule.Sphere.normal_gravitation`: