2
$\begingroup$

I have seen Jupiter and its 4 largest moons in a telescope, several times. The moons are always aligned in a line. This is fine. Very interesting. But.. in case of Saturn, not only that we can see its ring, moons are not aligned in a line. I was wondering why is it so and I came to a conclusion that Saturns axial tilt must be bigger than Jupiters. I have visited english wikipedia and found out that it is true - and that the difference is about 23°.

Why is it so?

I am not a physicist. I do not even study astrophysics, but I wonder why the difference is so big. I came to another conclusion that the rotation speed may play a huge role here. The faster an object is spinning, the smaller axial tilt. And according to wikipedia, there is a difference and it seems that it fits in my theory.

So. I did my research, but now I am not sure if that´s all and if it´s right. I mean, maybe there is another factor that I forgot to count-in. I know that, according to scientists, Jupiter formed before Saturn. Does it mean that the difference in formation answer my question to why the axial tilt & the rotation speed vary so much? Or is it because of the distance to Sun?

| improve this question | |
$\endgroup$
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Venus and Mercury have very small axial tilts ( 2.6 and 0.05 degrees, respectively), but they both rotate very slowly. $\endgroup$ – Peter Erwin Aug 5 '17 at 15:51
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ And there's Uranus which has close to $98^\circ$ axial tilt. $\endgroup$ – StephenG Aug 5 '17 at 23:49
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ How does this help me with my question ?.. $\endgroup$ – Petr Hykš Aug 6 '17 at 19:53

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.