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…
139 Citations
Theory of the Mercury's spin-orbit motion and analysis of its main librations
- Physics, Geology
- 2003
The 3:2 spin-orbit resonance between the rotational and orbital motions of Mercury (the periods are P Φ = 56.646 and P λ = 87.969 days respectively) results from a functional dependance of the tidal…
Planetary perturbations on Mercury’s libration in longitude
- Physics, Geology
- 2008
Two space missions dedicated to Mercury (MESSENGER and BepiColombo) aim at understanding its rotation and confirming the existence of a liquid core. This double challenge requires much more accurate…
On the rotation of Mercury
- Physics, Geology
- 1979
A planar, fixed-orbit model of the rotation of the planet Mercury is analyzed. The model includes only the solar torques on the planet's permanent asymmetry and its solar tidal bulge. For this model,…
Mercury’s spin–orbit resonance explained by initial retrograde and subsequent synchronous rotation
- Physics, Geology
- 2012
The planet Mercury rotates three times about its spin axis for every two orbits around the Sun. Numerical modelling suggests that this unusual pattern could result from initial retrograde rotation…
Mercury’s resonant rotation from secular orbital elements
- Physics, Geology
- 2015
We used recently produced Solar System ephemerides, which incorporate 2 years of ranging observations to the MESSENGER spacecraft, to extract the secular orbital elements for Mercury and associated…
Gravity field and rotation state of Mercury from the BepiColombo Radio Science Experiments
- Physics, Geology
- 2001
Tidal Evolution of Exoplanets
- Physics, Geology
- 2010
Tidal effects arise from differential and inelastic deformation of a planet by a perturbing body. The continuous action of tides modify the rotation of the planet together with its orbit until an…
Rotation of Mercury: Theoretical Analysis of the Dynamics of a Rigid Ellipsoidal Planet
- Physics, GeologyScience
- 1966
The second-order nonlinear differential equation for the rotation of Mercury implies locked-in motion when the period is within the range where e is the eccentricity and T is the period of Mercury's…
References
SHOWING 1-3 OF 3 REFERENCES
Rotation of the Planet Mercury
- Physics, GeologyNature
- 1965
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…
A Radar Determination of the Rotation of the Planet Mercury
- PhysicsNature
- 1965
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…
Flux Density of the Radio Source CTA 102
- PhysicsNature
- 1965
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.