The Motions of the Satellites of Mars

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Abstract
In the first part of the paper, analytical expressions for the secular and periodic variations in the orbital elements of the satellites of Mars due to the combined action of the oblateness of Mars and the attraction of the Sun are developed. The periodic variations are kept as small as possible by referring the elements to the appropriate Laplacian planes. In the second part of the paper, improved values of the arbitrary parameters of the theory are determined by an analysis of all available observations of the positions of the satellites during the period 1877–1969. It is concluded that the observational data are not sufficiently accurate to determine the secular accelerations, if any, of the mean longitudes of the satellites.

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