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Re: Moon's synchronism




...
Relaxation of a system to its state of lowest free energy through
dissipation by tidal friction. The system is still relaxing; If
nothing else were to interfere, the Earth, too, would relax to a
state where its rotational period matches that of its revolution
around the Moon. ...

I would like to note that this mutually tidal-locked situation has already
long ago been achieved for the Pluto-Charon system. This system
rotates/revolves like a tumbling lopsided barbell in space with an
invisible bar.

It is also fairly common for a satellite to be tidally locked to its parent
planet without the parent planet returning the favor (the current case
between the earth and the moon). For instance, all four of Jupiter's
Galilean satellites are, I believe, tidally locked. In the Jovian system
this is to be expected considering the huge tidal stresses that Jupiter
induces in its satellites.

David Bowman
dbowman@gtc.georgetown.ky.us