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Lagrange point
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===Radial acceleration=== [[File:Radial acceleration Earth-Moon Lagrangian.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Net radial acceleration of a point orbiting along the Earth–Moon line]] The radial acceleration ''a'' of an object in orbit at a point along the line passing through both bodies is given by: <math display="block">a = -\frac{G M_1}{r^2}\sgn(r)+\frac{G M_2}{(R-r)^2}\sgn(R-r)+\frac{G\bigl((M_1+M_2) r-M_2 R\bigr)}{R^3}</math> where ''r'' is the distance from the large body ''M''<sub>1</sub>, ''R'' is the distance between the two main objects, and sgn(''x'') is the [[sign function]] of ''x''. The terms in this function represent respectively: force from ''M''<sub>1</sub>; force from ''M''<sub>2</sub>; and centripetal force. The points L<sub>3</sub>, L<sub>1</sub>, L<sub>2</sub> occur where the acceleration is zero — see chart at right. Positive acceleration is acceleration towards the right of the chart and negative acceleration is towards the left; that is why acceleration has opposite signs on opposite sides of the gravity wells.
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