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1987AJ 94.1350W 1350 Astron.J.94 (5),November1987 0004-6256/87/051350-11$00.90 © 1987Am.Astron. Soc.1350 turbed thatthe3/2resonance, theresonanceinwhich half revolutionsperorbit.This regionissostronglyper- from norotationatallinaninertial frametonearlytwoanda rion therotationalphasespace near synchronousrotationis dominated byalargechaoticzone. Thechaoticzoneextends of modemnonlineardynamicsshowed thatinfactforHype- orbit couplingisnotvalidforabodywithsuchlargeaspheri- friction andconsequentlytherotationrateisexpectedtobe city. Areanalysisofthespin-orbit problemusingtechniques short axis(Smithetal.1982).Thestandardtheoryofspin- of-round, withthelongaxisroughlytwiceas comparable totheorbitalmeanmotion(Peale1977). rotation ofHyperionhasbeensignificantlyaffectedbytidal general picture(Wisdom,Peale,andMignard1984).The Voyager picturesshowedHyperiontobesignificantlyout- inspired thiseleganttheory. commensurate rotationinthesolarsystemisonethat evolved satellitesareinsynchronousrotation.Itisrather nonsynchronous commensuratespin-orbitresonance.In has asignificantprobabilityofhavingbeencapturedinto unfortunate thattheonlyexampleofanonsynchronous those caseswheretherotationstateisknown,alltidally were showntobedynamicallystable,andinmanycases despinning issmallerthantheageofsolarsystem,none among thosenaturalsatellitesforwhichthetimescale nonsynchronous spin-orbitresonancesasitisencountered lution aswell.Theprobabilityofcaptureintoeachthese motion intheseresonancesisstableagainstfurthertidalevo- was estimated.However,Peale(1977)hasshownthat, equal tohalfanintegermultipleoftheorbitalmeanmotion too out-of-round,spin-orbitresonanceswithrotationrates fixed orbitwithnonzeroeccentricityandafigurethatisnot pling wasdeveloped(seeGoldreichandPeale1966).Fora evaluation ofthispicture,andthetheoryspin-orbitcou- established. TheresonantrotationofMercuryforcedare- sumed todeclinesteadilyuntilthesynchronouslockwas THE ASTRONOMICALJOURNAL Until thediscoveryofresonantrotationMercury smaller angularvelocities,theequilibriumobliquityiszero. velocity approachestwicethemeanorbitalmotion.For the equilibriumobliquitygoestozeroasspinangular tion, theequilibriumobliquitydecreases.Iforbitisfixed, value between0°and90°.Asthespinisslowedbytidalfric- the tidaltorquetendstodriveobliquityanequilibrium been understoodforover100yr(Darwin1879;seeGol- dreich andPeale1970).Ifthespinangularvelocityislarge, obliquities androtationratesofthenaturalsatelliteshave (Pettengill andDyce1965),therateofrotationwasas- Saturn’s satelliteHyperionisadramaticexceptiontothis © American Astronomical Society • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System The basicmechanismsgoverningthetidalevolutionof Department ofEarth,Atmospheric,andPlanetarySciences,MassachusettsInstituteTechnology,Cambridge,02139 All irregularlyshapednaturalsatellitesmusttumblechaoticallybeforebeingcapturedintosynchronous rotation. ROTATIONAL DYNAMICSOFIRREGULARLYSHAPEDNATURALSATELLITES I. INTRODUCTION Received 23February1987;revised21July1987 VOLUME 94,NUMBER5 Jack Wisdom ABSTRACT candidate forchaotic tumbling,butinthiscase thereisno to thatofHyperion,Nereidcomes tomindasapossible its largeorbitaleccentricity(e^:0.75) andsizecomparable rotation; thesynchronousresonance isattitudestable.With the rotationisknown,thesesatellites areallinsynchronous each casetheorbitaleccentricity islow.Inthosecaseswhere natural satellitesthataresignificantly out-of-round,butin chaotically tumbling?Thereareactuallyanumberofother phase space.Shouldothernaturalsatellitesbeexpectedto counts forthelargechaoticzoneinHyperion’srotational gives astrongoverlapofprimaryresonances,andthusac- city parameteroforderunityandlargeorbitaleccentricity commensurability betweenTitanandHyperion.Anaspheri- primarily aforcedeccentricityduetothe4/3meanmotion has aratherlargeeccentricity,near0.1.Thiseccentricityis not onlyout-of-round(a—0.89),buttheorbitofHyperion proportional tosomepoweroftheeccentricity.Hyperionis the resonancesexceptforsynchronousresonanceare principal momentsofinertia.Inaddition,thewidthsall city parametera=y¡3(B—A)/C,whereA