this post was submitted on 21 Dec 2023
646 points (98.4% liked)
Science Memes
10988 readers
1832 users here now
Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
- Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
- Keep it rooted (on topic).
- No spam.
- Infographics welcome, get schooled.
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
Research Committee
Other Mander Communities
Science and Research
Biology and Life Sciences
- !abiogenesis@mander.xyz
- !animal-behavior@mander.xyz
- !anthropology@mander.xyz
- !arachnology@mander.xyz
- !balconygardening@slrpnk.net
- !biodiversity@mander.xyz
- !biology@mander.xyz
- !biophysics@mander.xyz
- !botany@mander.xyz
- !ecology@mander.xyz
- !entomology@mander.xyz
- !fermentation@mander.xyz
- !herpetology@mander.xyz
- !houseplants@mander.xyz
- !medicine@mander.xyz
- !microscopy@mander.xyz
- !mycology@mander.xyz
- !nudibranchs@mander.xyz
- !nutrition@mander.xyz
- !palaeoecology@mander.xyz
- !palaeontology@mander.xyz
- !photosynthesis@mander.xyz
- !plantid@mander.xyz
- !plants@mander.xyz
- !reptiles and amphibians@mander.xyz
Physical Sciences
- !astronomy@mander.xyz
- !chemistry@mander.xyz
- !earthscience@mander.xyz
- !geography@mander.xyz
- !geospatial@mander.xyz
- !nuclear@mander.xyz
- !physics@mander.xyz
- !quantum-computing@mander.xyz
- !spectroscopy@mander.xyz
Humanities and Social Sciences
Practical and Applied Sciences
- !exercise-and sports-science@mander.xyz
- !gardening@mander.xyz
- !self sufficiency@mander.xyz
- !soilscience@slrpnk.net
- !terrariums@mander.xyz
- !timelapse@mander.xyz
Memes
Miscellaneous
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
It's tidally locked to earth. Earth isn't tidally locked to it. Happens slowly due to gravity and differential mass. Relatively stable satellites end up tidally locked given the time. Pretty sure lack of water/liquids/atmosphere hastens the process.
Yeah, Earth's moon isn't the only satellite to tidally lock to its planet. In fact, several are.
Photos and Deimos are tidally locked to Mars. 8 of Jupiter's moons and 15 of Saturn's. Pluto and Charon.
Mercury is tidally locked to the sun, but it's in 3:2 resonance rather than 1:1.
Now those are some fun facts.
Can you ELI5 that last one?
Mercury orbits the sun every 88 earth days. It spins on its axis every 59 earth days, relative to an outside observer (sidereal day.) That makes the solar day (from sunrise to sunrise) 179 earth days long.
So in a certain sense, a 'day' on Mercury is 2.034090909090 'years' long? (Solar day divided by orbiting the sun, lol)
No. I rounded off the numbers. A Mercury day is exactly 2 Mercury years. Which is why it's "in resonance". That means that gravity will speed up or slow down the rotation to keep the ratio stable over time.
Oh that's really neat!
Guys please upvote we all need an eli5