Abstract:
In the framework of the problem of two extended bodies, a new definition of the
passive gravitational mass of an extended spherically symmetric body (the Earth)
is given. If this mass is equal to the inertial mass, the equation of motion of the
center of mass of the extended body becomes the equation of a geodesic of a point in the total gravitational field of the two extended bodies (the Earth and the Sun). It is shown that in general the passive gravitational mass is not equal to the inertial mass, and therefore the center of mass does not move along a geodesic.