Rotational Period of the Planet Mercury

@article{Colombo1965RotationalPO,
  title={Rotational Period of the Planet Mercury},
  author={G. Colombo},
  journal={Nature},
  year={1965},
  volume={208},
  pages={575-575}
}
IN a recent communication by S. J. Peale and T. Gold1 the rotational period of Mercury, determined from radar Doppler-spread measurements to be 59 ± 5 days2, has been explained in terms of a solar tidal torque effect, taking into account the large eccentricity of Mercury's orbit, and the 1/r6 dependence of the tidal friction (r being the Sun–planet distance). They conclude from a very brief discussion that after slowing down from a higher direct angular velocity, the planet will have a final… Expand
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References

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Rotation of the Planet Mercury
SOLAR tidal friction must be an intense effect for Mercury, and it must be expected that the planet's spin would have relaxed from any original value to one that is under the control of this effect… Expand
A Radar Determination of the Rotation of the Planet Mercury
DURING the recent inferior conjunction of the planet Mercury in April, 1965, radar observations were obtained by the Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory in Puerto Rico (operated by Cornell University… Expand
Flux Density of the Radio Source CTA 102
OBSERVATIONS at 920 Mc/s by Sholomitsky1 suggest that the flux density of the radio source CTA 102 exhibits large variations with a period of about 100 days.