Eric M. Edlund’s scientific contributions

Lagrange points are the equilibrium points within a restricted three-body system, epitomized by the Trojan asteroids near the L4 and L5 points of the Sun–Jupiter system. They also play a crucial role in some space missions, including the James Webb Space Telescope which is located at the Sun–Earth L2 point. While the existence of five Lagrange points is a well-known feature of the restricted three-body problem, the equations describing the precise location of all five points are not extensively documented. This work presents a derivation of all Lagrange points using polar coordinates and a new normalization scheme that offers a simpler interpretation of solutions compared to prior analyses. A subtle issue concerning the treatment of angular momentum in the potential formulation of this problem is addressed and resolved. The supplementary material to this work contains additional mathematical details and discussion.