sünkroonpöörlemine

Sünkroonpöörlemine is a phenomenon observed in celestial mechanics where a celestial body's rotation period is synchronized with its orbital period around another body. This means the same side of the celestial body always faces the primary body. The most common example is the Moon's rotation around the Earth. For every orbit the Moon completes around the Earth, it also completes one rotation on its axis. This is why we always see the same face of the Moon.

The gravitational forces between two celestial bodies are responsible for causing sünkroonpöörlemine. Over long periods, tidal forces can slow down or speed up the rotation of the orbiting body until its rotation matches its orbital period. This process is called tidal locking. Once locked, the rotational period remains stable.

While the Earth-Moon system is the most well-known case, sünkroonpöörlemine is common throughout the solar system and beyond. Many moons orbiting planets in our solar system are tidally locked to their parent planets. For instance, Jupiter's Galilean moons and Saturn's moons exhibit sünkroonpöörlemine. This phenomenon is also observed in exoplanetary systems, where planets orbiting close to their stars are often tidally locked. Studying sünkroonpöörlemine helps astronomers understand the dynamics of orbital evolution and the long-term stability of planetary and lunar systems.