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Rotation period - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (311 words) |
 | Typically, the stated rotation period for a gas giant (ie, Jupiter) is the internal rotation period, as determined from the rotation of the planet's magnetic field. |
| This is because, although the rotation axis is fixed in space (by the conservation of angular momentum), it is not necessarily fixed in the body of the object itself. |
| Hyperion, a satellite of Saturn, exhibits this behaviour, and its rotation period is described as chaotic. |
| * Differential Rotation - (Astronomy): Definition (596 words) |
| Differential Rotation - Rotation in which the rotation period of a body varies with latitude. |
| The rotation of a body such as a gaseous planet or the Sun so that different parts are rotating at different speeds. |
| The Sun rotates faster at the equator than it does at the poles This is known as differential rotation. |
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