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According to

Tidal locking

The effect arises between two bodies when their gravitational interaction slows a body's rotation until it becomes tidally locked. Over many millions of years, the interaction forces changes to their orbits and rotation rates as a result of energy exchange and heat dissipation. When one of the bodies reaches a state where there is no longer any net change in its rotation rate over the course of a complete orbit, it is said to be tidally locked.

Is there any planet or satellite in the solar system in the process of getting tidally locked?

Pablo
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1 Answers1

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The Moon is in the process of tide-locking the Earth...

Tidal interactions between the Moon and the crust and oceans of Earth have been slowing down the Earth's rotation since the moon's formation. In the past 4-odd billion years, the Earth's rotational period has gone from about 6 hours to about 24. These tidal interactions are also responsible for the Moon receding from Earth, and given enough time, is projected to result in the orbital and rotational period of the mutually-tide-locked Earth-Moon system stabilizing at about 47 days long.

But the Sun might run out the clock...

How long is this tide-locking projected to take? My quick googling on the answer comes up with a number of different estimates, from 7.5 to 50 billion years.

According to Wikipedia: Tidal Locking:

Earth is not expected to become tidally locked to the Moon before the Sun becomes a red giant and engulfs Earth and the Moon.

notovny
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