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Nature 429, 814-815 (24 June 2004) | doi:10.1038/429814a
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Planetary science: How Mercury got its spin
Stanley F. Dermott1
Abstract
The orbital period of Mercury and its period of rotation are known to be in a 3/2 ratio, but the chances of the planet reaching this state seemed so small as to be unfeasible — until now.
Like most of the large satellites in the Solar System, the Moon's orbital period and its period of rotation are the same: the Moon completes both an orbit of the Earth and a rotation about its own axis in 27.3 days, and hence always keeps the same face towards the Earth.
- Stanley F. Dermott is in the Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-2055, USA.
e-mail: Email: dermott@astro.ufl.edu
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RESEARCH
Mercury's capture into the 3/2 spin-orbit resonance as a result of its chaotic dynamicsNature Letters to Editor (24 Jun 2004)
Resonant Spin States in the Solar SystemNature Article (12 Mar 1966)
