A computational study of the axial tilt of the planet Uranus

Details A computational study of the axial tilt of the planet Uranus A computational study of the axial tilt of the planet Uranus

Mar 1998

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998aps..tss...c01s&link_type=abstract

American Physical Society, 1998 Texas Section Spring Meeting, 19-21 March 1998 San Antonio, Texas, abstract #C.01

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Scientific paper

The unusual tilt of the rotation axis of the planet Uranus is investigated using numerical modeling. The exact nature of the 98^o tilt with respect to the perpendicular to the ecliptic is, as yet, unknown. A catastrophic event in which a planet-sized body impacts at a grazing angle has been previously proposed. This study attempts to test the catastrophic impact theory. The equations of motion expressing conservation of angular momentum are numerically solved by considering two cases: (i) single-body impact, and (ii) multiple-body impacts, analogous to the recent fragmented Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collisions with Jupiter. The initial condition used in the numerical model is that the angular momentum vector of Uranus is parallel to, and of the same order of magnitude as, those of the other Jovian planets. The time evolution of the angular momentum is computed for both cases, and for a variety of impacting masses and kinetic energies.

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