Abstract
We model the longitudinal librations of Hyperion with a second order nonlinear differential equation in which the terms of order e 2 or higher, where e is the eccentricity of the satellite's elliptical orbit, are neglected. With a suitable change of variable we transform the differential equation into an equivalent one that describes the motion of a forced pendulum with a vertically oscillating pivot. We prove that the pendulum has uncountably many chaotic orbits. Hence, the proposed model indicates, although it does not prove, that Hyperion's longitudinal librations are chaotic.
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