Aero.spacecraft.CentralBodyOptions

R2026b

Central body options used in propagateOrbit

Since R2025a

Description

Central body options used by the propagateOrbit function.

Creation

Description

options = Aero.spacecraft.CentralBodyOptions creates an Aero.spacecraft.CentralBodyOptions object, options, using default properties.

options = Aero.spacecraft.CentralBodyOptions(Name=Value) creates an Aero.spacecraft.CentralBodyOptions object using additional parameters specified by one or more name-value arguments.

Properties

Specify these properties as name-value arguments.

CentralBody — Name of central body

Earth (default) | Sun | Moon | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Uranus | Neptune

Name of the central body, specified as one of Earth, Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Data Types: string

UseEarthOrientationParameters — Option to use Earth orientation parameters

false (default) | true

Option to use Earth orientation parameters for the transformation between the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF) and International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF), specified as a logical scalar. This property is visible when CentralBody is set to Earth. Otherwise, it is unused and ignored.

Data Types: logical

EarthOrientationParameterFile — Earth orientation data file

aeroiersdata.mat (default) | MAT file

Custom list of Earth orientation data, specified in a MAT file. To create the file, use the aeroReadIERSData function.

Dependencies

This property is visible when CentralBody is set to Earth and UseEarthOrientationParameters is set to true. Otherwise, the EarthOrientationParameterFile property is not used.

Data Types: string

More About

Gravitational Parameter, Equatorial Radius, and Rotation Rate of Central Bodies

Gravitational parameter, equatorial radius, and rotation rate of celestial bodies are essential parameters for characterizing the physical and dynamical properties of planets and other astronomical objects and play a crucial role in celestial mechanics and astrodynamics.

Gravitational Parameter (μ) — The gravitational parameter μ is the product of the gravitational constant (G) and the mass (M) of the central body.

Equatorial Radius — The equatorial radius of a planet is the distance from the center of the planet to its equator, in m. It is a measure of the size of the planet and is larger than the polar radius due to the rotation of the planet, which causes a bulging effect at the equator. This phenomenon is known as equatorial bulge or oblateness.

Rotation Rate — The rotation rate of a planet refers to how quickly the planet spins around its own axis. It is measured using the angular velocity, which is the rate at which the planet rotates, measured in radians per second or degrees per hour. The rotation rate affects various planetary phenomena, including day and night cycles, weather patterns, and the shape of the planet (due to centrifugal forces).

The values of these three parameters for the celestial bodies included in the Aerospace Toolbox are listed in this table.

Planetary Data

Central Body	Gravitational Parameter (m³/s²)	Equatorial Radius (m)	Rotation Rate (rad/s)
Earth	3.986004418e14	6.378137e6	7.292115e-5
Moon	4.902801076e12	1.7381e6	2.66166e-6
Sun	1.327124400179870e20	6.96000e8	2.8653291e-6
Mercury	2.20320804864179e13	2.4397e6	1.24001e-6
Venus	3.248585988264598e14	6.0518e6	-2.99244942e-7
Mars	4.2828314258067e13	3.3962e6	7.088218e-5
Jupiter	1.267127678577960e17	7.1492e7	1.7585336e-4
Saturn	3.794062606113729e16	6.0268e7	1.6378499e-4
Uranus	5.794549007071873e15	2.5559e7	-1.0123719e-4
Neptune	6.836534063879261e15	2.4764e7	1.08338e-4

Version History

Introduced in R2025a