Unraveling orbital resonance and its implications in astronomy

The orbits of planets are extremely important for some processes necessary for life. For example, the Earth’s stellar orbit around the Sun is responsible for providing favorable conditions for a number of events. But this is not the only effect of orbits; Astronomers have already detected many planets and moons that exhibit orbital resonance features.

The orbital relationship between celestial bodies and their sun can be very different from case to case; In our system, planets have their own unique aspects. Some have more circular orbits, while others have a more elliptical shape, but all the characteristics of this orbital path depend on the formation history of the star and planet.

orbital resonance It is a phenomenon that occurs when two or more celestial bodies exert a gravitational influence on each other, resulting in a completely aligned pattern. When the orbits of these cosmic objects are aligned, they become relatively regular and predictable. In other words, this specific pattern will continue to form for a long time.

In the Solar System, Jupiter’s moons Io, Europa, and Ganymede are involved in an orbital phenomenon known as the Laplace resonance. Periodically, as Io completes one orbit around Jupiter, Europa and Ganymede complete two and four orbits, respectively.

“In celestial mechanics, two bodies are in orbital resonance if their orbital periods can be expressed as the ratio of two integers. For example, two planets both orbiting a parent star are said to be in 2:1 resonance when one of the planets orbits the star approximately twice that of the other planet.” In our Solar System, Neptune and Pluto are in resonance (3:2 in this case), as are many moons of Saturn and Jupiter.” . in the Dictionary of the scientific journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Orbital resonance between celestial bodies

Resonance of planets and moons with stars is a rather rare phenomenon in astronomy; Of the more than 5,600 exoplanets and thousands of natural satellites identified, only 5% offer the mentioned features. The information was disclosed by University of Arizona astronomy professor Chris Impey in a post on his website. Speech.

Needs attention For an orbital resonance, cosmic objects must have orbital relationships with integer ratios. For example, when two planets orbit the Sun, one of them will take one year to complete the orbit and the other two years. As mentioned about the alignment of Jupiter’s three moons that perfectly complete their orbits one, two and four.

Neptune and Pluto reveal the same phenomenon: for every two orbits of Neptune around the Sun, Pluto makes three revolutions. Generally, Scientists describe resonances through the musical intervals of Neptune and Pluto, such as 3:2 (fifth), but there are also orbits such as 4:3 (fifth), 2:1 (octave), among others. — Jupiter’s moons are in the ratio 4:2:1.

Scientists have discovered many exoplanets and moons outside the Solar System with different orbital resonance rates. Located 1,164 light-years from Earth, the red dwarf Kepler 80 orbits five planets in a ratio of 9:6:4:3:2; Already in the HD 110067 system, at a distance of about 100 light years, six planets below Neptune orbit in the 54:36:24:16:12:9 resonance chain.

For now, there are a record number of exoplanets in the orbital resonance of the red star TRAPPIST-1; In total, there are seven planets with orbits in the ratio 24:15:9:6:4:3:2. In the Solar System, the best known is the Laplace resonance between the orbits of Jupiter’s moons Io, Europa, and Ganymede.

“In the three-body problem, there are stable configurations that are not fixed in the rotating frame. For example, if Jupiter and the Sun are two large bodies, these stable configurations arise when the average motions of Jupiter and the small particle – an asteroid – have a ratio close to small integers. This In this case, the mean orbital motions are said to be nearly proportional, and an asteroid trapped near the measurability of such a mean motion is said to be in orbital resonance with Jupiter.” encyclopedia Britannica.

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