Five special spots in the Sun-Earth system where a small object can hold a fixed position relative to both bodies as they orbit.
Normally anything closer to the Sun than Earth orbits faster and pulls ahead, and anything farther orbits slower and falls behind. At a Lagrange point the combined pull of the Sun and Earth, plus the centrifugal effect of travelling around together, balances out. A spacecraft parked there simply co-orbits with Earth and keeps the same geometry.
L1, L2, L3 lie on the straight line through the Sun and Earth. L1 sits between them, a perch for watching the Sun. L2 sits just beyond Earth on the night side, ideal for deep-space telescopes. L3 hides on the far side of the Sun.
L4 and L5 sit 60 degrees ahead of and behind Earth in its orbit, each forming an equilateral triangle with the Sun and Earth.
L1, L2, and L3 are unstable, like balancing on a saddle. A craft there slowly drifts away and must nudge itself back with small burns. L4 and L5 are stable, like gentle bowls, so dust and asteroids naturally collect there. Jupiter has thousands of Trojan asteroids pooled at its L4 and L5.
The Lagrange layer draws the Sun-Earth points live from Earth's position, each labeled with the spacecraft that live there. Click any point to read about it.
The five points ride along with Earth, keeping the same geometry as it circles the Sun. Park a craft at one and it stays put relative to the Sun and Earth.
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