Questions regarding a phenomenon when an object has an orbital period that is equal to its rotational period due to gravitational tidal forces.
Questions tagged [tidal-locking]
79 questions
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Shouldn't tidal locking be impossible for a satellite that has a considerably eccentric orbit?
This popped up into my mind just now. The Moon is tidally locked to Earth, and also has a significantly eccentric orbit. This means that its orbital velocity near periapsis is considerably faster than its orbital velocity at apoapsis.
Thus, for the…
ChristieToWin
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Could a tidally locked large moon prevent a close-orbiting planet from getting tidally locked to its star?
A planet can get tidally locked to its moon, like Pluto and Charon, or like Earth someday and Luna. A planet can get tidally locked to its sun - close orbiting exoplanets are assumed to be tidally locked to their stars.
If a close orbiting planet…
Willk
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How is Mercury tidally locked if the ratio is not 1:1?
The ratio for a planet to be tidally locked has to be 1:1, but the ratio for Mercury is 3:2. How is Mercury tidally locked if the ratio is not 1:1?
nrajeev
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Tidal locking of a moon
When a moon is in orbit around it's planet but is so close that it will become tidally locked does it experience a large 'wobble' in between the phase when it still has its own rotation and the final phase when it is always showing the same face to…
Brooks Nelson
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Can a celestial body be tidally locked to multiple other bodies at the same time?
Could a planet be tidally locked to both the star it is orbiting and a moon orbiting the planet at the same time? I feel like it wouldn't be possible, because I think it would cause the moon to crash into the planet, but maybe there's a way for it…
Nzall
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Would a tidally locked planet be always increasing in temperature?
Okay, say we have a tidally locked planet that has one side facing its star. On the side that always faces the star, my question is will that side facing the star always be increasing in temperature? If the side is always facing the star, it doesn't…
StellarExile
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