Physics
Scientific paper
Nov 1984
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1984rspta.313..147p&link_type=abstract
(Royal Society, Discussion on Rotation in the Solar System, London, England, Mar. 8, 9, 1984) Royal Society (London), Philosophi
Physics
4
Celestial Mechanics, Hyperion, Planetary Rotation, Spin Dynamics, Axes Of Rotation, Libration, Orbital Resonances (Celestial Mechanics)
Scientific paper
For almost the entire range of dimensions of Hyperion allowed by uncertainties in the observations, the satellite cannot librate stably about a rotation rate which is synchronous with its orbital mean motion. Rather, the large gravitational torques on the asymmetric satellite coupled with the large eccentricity forced by the orbital resonance with Titan cause Hyperion to tumble in a random manner. Large changes in orientation of body axes relative to inertial space and in the instantaneous spin rate occur on timescales of the order of the orbit period. Numerical evaluation of the exponential divergence of nearby trajectories in the phase space of the motion verifies that the tumbling is truly chaotic. This newly defined state of chaotic rotation for Hyperion is likely to be the only example of confined, continuously observable chaotic motion in the solar system.
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