Sünkroonpöörlemise

Sünkroonpöörlemine is a term used in astronomy to describe the phenomenon where a celestial body's rotation period is equal to its orbital period around another body. This results in the same side of the celestial body always facing the primary body. The most familiar example of sünkroonpöörlemine is the Moon's relationship with the Earth. The Moon rotates on its axis in approximately 27.3 days, which is the same amount of time it takes to orbit the Earth. Consequently, Earth-bound observers always see the same face of the Moon.

This tidal locking, which causes sünkroonpöörlemine, is a common occurrence in the solar system. Many moons of the gas giants, such as Jupiter's Galilean moons and Saturn's Titan, also exhibit sünkroonpöörlemine with their parent planets. This phenomenon arises from the gravitational interaction between two bodies. Over long periods, the gravitational pull of the larger body creates tidal bulges on the smaller body. The differential gravitational forces on these bulges exert a torque that gradually slows down or speeds up the smaller body's rotation until its rotation period matches its orbital period.

While sünkroonpöörlemine is often observed with moons orbiting planets, it can also occur between planets and stars, though this is less common and typically happens with planets orbiting very close to their stars. The exact conditions for sünkroonpöörlemine to occur depend on factors such as the masses of the bodies involved, their initial rotation and orbital periods, and the distance between them.