A numerical method for calculating minimum distance to Near Earth Objects

摘要

Calculating minimum distance between two celestial bodies orbiting the same star is a difficult task even when computational methods are employed. In this paper we address this problem for the case involving Earth and a coplanar comet, and we offer a detailed discussion of a novel tandem application of two well-known rootfinding methods to solve it. Our results illustrate the important fact that the minimum distance between two such orbiting bodies occurs in general when neither body is at an orbital intersection. The numerical approach we devise provides a framework that will be used in future work that addresses the more general minimization problem that arises when the coplanar restriction is removed, and may serve as a model for addressing other related minimization problems.