What is the cause of lunar nodal and apsidal precession?

In summary: AFAICR, this ( counter intuitively ) gives zero torque with the moon at 0 , 90,180, 270 degrees from the line from sun to EM barycentre and max amplitude at the four "45" degree points .This is correct. The torque exerted on the Earth-Moon angular momentum is zero at these points.
  • #36
OK, I have finally got the bottom of this. The polynomials given on that link are obtained by differentiating Chapront's polynomial to get rotational speed and then using the first order term of the Taylor expansion : 1/(1-x) = 1+x to get a polynomial for period.

In the case of lunar apsidal period the result is accurate to 8s.f. back to 1000BC.

I have suggested the author include the second Taylor term and state the approximations being made and the expected accuracy ( giving 12s.f. in the coeffs is misleading ).
 
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  • #37
Did you ever figure out where the 366 came from?
 

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