In
physics, the
n-body problem is the problem of predicting the individual motions of a group of
celestial objects interacting with each other
gravitationally. Solving this problem has been motivated by the desire to understand the motions of the
Sun,
Moon,
planets and the visible
stars. In the 20th century, understanding the dynamics of
globular cluster star systems became an important
n-body problem. The
n-body problem in
general relativity is considerably more difficult to solve.