Abstract
This study identifies the unique features accompanying the phenomenon of synchronous rotation of the major (proximal) satellites of the gas giants and the earth’s moon, and the special features leading to the ‘negative’ rotation of Venus, Uranus and Pluto, as well as the most peripheral small satellites of the gas giants. Such features help us understand how these phenomena occur but also, by combining all of the observations help explain other (regular) planetary motions as well. In the synchronously rotating satellites, the salient features are the satellites’ low axial tilts and both the orbital speed and the axial rotation speed increasing with proximity to the mother body. In “negative” rotation, axial tilts are in excess of 120° and the axial rotation speeds are significantly delayed; this delay is most pronounced in Venus, which has an axial tilt of -174°. A scrutiny of the orbital parameters of all the satellites of the gas giants alone will yield sufficient data to propose a working hypothesis of how mutual gravitation, combined with spin (axial rotation and orbital motion), the distance from the mother, and centrifugal force can explain all motions. It confirms our belief that the process of planetary motions is a continuum from the synchronous, through degrees of non-synchronicity (or regular orbits), to the negative rotations, all depending on the degree of influence from mother bodies, as a product of distances from them. Thus, the nearest large satellites with the least axial tilts display synchronous rotation. Those satellites that are intermediate in distance from the mother show nonsynchronous axial rotation and correspondingly slower orbital speeds. The small peripheral satellites display axial tilts over 120 degrees and rotate negatively. In all these orbital motions, centrifugal force is the crucial restraining influence; lest, the orbiting bodies will tend to fall into the mother bodies. How all these pieces of the puzzle fit together in the orderly movements of bodies in the universe is the underlying theme of this article.
Highlights
IntroductionThe “synchronous rotation” (the orbital period of the satellites is the same as their axial rotation periods) is a phenomenon that is displayed by the closest major satellites of the gas giants, and by our moon
The “synchronous rotation” is a phenomenon that is displayed by the closest major satellites of the gas giants, and by our moon
As the satellite orbits the mother, due to the confluence of gravity and spin, the leading edge of the satellite experiences a tug towards the mother and it responds by increasing the speed of rotation, in the same direction as the mother’s axial rotation. (Figure 2 illustrates this process)
Summary
The “synchronous rotation” (the orbital period of the satellites is the same as their axial rotation periods) is a phenomenon that is displayed by the closest major satellites of the gas giants, and by our moon. It is further proposed that even the orderly orbits of the planets around the Sun and the satellites around their mother planets, involve the combined forces of mutual gravitation (which obeys the “Inverse square law” (Seeds, 1999)) but requires this spin/rotational influence from the mother bodies to guide the direction of such orbits. They help explain how, the complementary nature of the axial rotation and gravity can explain many other observed phenomena in our solar system and in the larger universe. When appropriate, reasonable extrapolations will be made to explain some other observed phenomena in the solar system, which are directly influenced by spin and gravity and about their complementary roles in the universe as well
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