Would the major axis of the elliptical orbit of a satellite of the moon continue to point the same way?

Question

Would the major axis of the elliptical orbit of a satellite of the moon continue to point at the same point in space throughout the month? 

Say the satellite is placed in orbit with the apogee (or I think it's more properly called apoapsis in this case) between the earth and moon. And say you made a point of noticing what star the major axis pointed at. One week later the moon has completed 1/4th of its orbit around the earth. Would the satellite's major axis still point at the same star, or would it point at the earth? If yes, would that condition continue over many months?

To really help me, please refer me to online reference(s). Or at least give me the correct terminology so I can do a search. I've read about precession that takes thousands of years. I guess Polaris won't always be our North Star. That's not the kind of change I'm wondering about.

Thank you

bikenbeer2000 · Accepted Answer

Without being an expert on lunar orbits, I would have thought there's no reason for the line of apsides to point towards the earth. What if it was a polar orbit? I would expect the apsides to slowly rotate in the same way as all other elliptical orbits in an n-body system, but I haven't much idea about the rate of rotation. If it helps, the apsides of a lunar orbit are periselene and aposelene.

jandrey · Answer

there's an incredible form of room around the earth, so it is not likely that a satellite tv for pc could hit yet another satellite tv for pc in orbit. additionally, considering the fact that many satellites are geosynchronous, this suggests that they are going to stay interior the comparable place above the earth; additionally lowering the possibilities of satellites hitting one yet another. The orbit of the satellite tv for pc is desperate via physics and arithmetic, to verify the ingredient above the earth the place the satellite tv for pc would be geosynchronous. As on your final question, satellites do no longer sidestep area debris, so some distance as i understand. i think that became a topic with the Hubble Telescope interior the previous.

Morningfox · Answer

This would be called apsidal precession (or perihelion precession for orbits around the sun).  Any 3-body system is going to have some.  You can find a formula and discussion at this link -- but it's in terms of Earth orientation, not inertial.

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Would the major axis of the elliptical orbit of a satellite of the moon continue to point the same way?

3 Answers