On 11/10/2010 14:22, Kathryn Huxtable wrote:   
   {snip}   
      
   >   
   > The cool thing about L4 and L5 (the ones that make an equilateral   
   > triangle) is that while L1, L2, and L3 are stable, if some outside   
   > force, e.g. another planet, disturbs the object it won't stay in the   
   > Lagrange point, in L4 and L5, they will simply end up "orbiting" around   
   > the Lagrange point. It's not a true orbit in that there's no mass   
   > necessarily at the Lagrange point and the orbit isn't Newtonian.   
   >   
   > So while there can't be very much stuff at the L1, L2, and L3 points,   
   > the L4 and L5 points can have a lot of different objects, each displaced   
   > from the actual point and moving around it. It makes a nice setting for   
   > space stations.   
      
   Unfortunately a spaceship needs more fuel to get to L4 and L5 than the    
   other Lagrange points so a Mars and Lunar Gateway spacestation will end    
   up at L1.   
      
   Andrew Swallow   
   --- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32   
    * Origin: Time Warp of the Future BBS - Home of League 10 (1:14/400)