QUOTE (MJBurrage @ May 22 2011, 09:34 PM)

P.S. Helios is at the Earth-Sun L3 point, but "Terrestrial L3 point" (or "Terran L3 point") would be better shorthand than the "Solar LaGrange point" used in Target: Wastelands. This is because, while its location is defined by Earth's orbit around the sun; there are LaGrange pints around the Sun for every planet (and around each planet for each moon). There is, for example, a Jovian L3 point defined by Jupiter's orbit, a Martian L3 point defined by Mars' orbit, etc. "Solar LaGrange point" does not tell you which planet's orbit it is based on.
It's most accurate to name the two bodies of the system under consideration. Lagrange points are a solution of a 3-body problem given specific limiting conditions and do not belong to either body but to the system of both (the third body is a small mass subject to the gravitational field of the other two). That said, abbreviations like Lunar (= Earth-Moon), Jovian (= Sun-Jupiter) etc. are also used. They are just less precise.
QUOTE (MJBurrage @ May 22 2011, 09:34 PM)

P.P.S. Has anyone ever read anything about the actual "Solar LaGrange points" i.e. those defined by the Sun's orbit in the Milky Way. (At a guess, I would assume other stars make this a moot point, but just wondering.)
Never thought about it. I guess you could define the stars in the center of the Milky Way as one mass and make a similar calculation. Given the small comparative mass of the sun, the fact that the center mass is actually an n-star system with a ill-defined border and the influence of all the other stars, many of much greater mass than Sol, any results are probably not very meaningful.