a couple of things: (1) you asked a perfectly reasonable question and you only got idiotic replies.
(2) I was surprised as I had wondered the same thing myself a few months ago. at the time I asked chat GPT or whatever AI or is using about it. so I just asked again to get a nice written reply:
me so it would be theoretically possible for a planet at any distance from the sun to be rotating around the sun at more or less any reasonable speed? we could imagine another solar system in which a Jupiter sized planet at Jupiter's distance from the Sun - five AU or whatever - where that planet is rotating around its star twice or three times or eight times faster than Jupiter is in our solar system?
Chat GPT:Yes, that's correct. In theory, a planet at any distance from its star could have a wide range of rotation speeds. The initial conditions during the formation of a planetary system, influenced by factors like the amount of material, the distribution of angular momentum, and interactions with neighboring bodies, can lead to varied rotational characteristics for planets.
So, it's conceivable to imagine a solar system where a Jupiter-sized planet at a similar distance from its star as Jupiter is in our solar system rotates around its star at a speed different from Jupiter. The specific rotation speed of a planet is a result of complex interactions during its formation and isn't strictly tied to its distance from the star.
so the answer seems to be that it is something to do with the angular Momentum that it is endowed with during its creation. we know there are other forces at play because so many planets have simple harmonic motion relationships to the orbital periods of other planets.
Thanks! That's exactly what I needed. I was reading some hard Sci-Fi where the relative location and orbital speeds of the planets matters. If Jupiter's on the opposite side of the sun from Earth that's MUCH farther away than if it's on the same side...6 AU instead of 4.
glad.
what are you reading?
something or a book that really expanded my imagination was this short non-fiction book : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/316287.A_Little_Book_of_Coincidence_in_the_Solar_System
available via Z lip which is Incorporated into Anna's archive which is currently the pinned post here on poal
Lightbringer. It's Pierce Brown's series about a slave caste of humans rebelling against their decadent, Roman-style aristocracy. Very much "You will own nothing and be happy" set in a hard sci fi future where humanity has colonized large parts of the solar system.
The author does a pretty good job of capturing the sheer size of the solar system where interplanetary travel takes weeks or months, acceleration and deceleration dramatically impacts that, as well as realism about how easy it is for your telescopes to lose track of enemy ships in an area as vast as our solar system.
Much better than soft sci fi where magic engines allows you to travel between planets in an hour, you can turn on a dime without turning your crew to paste, and "sensors" tell you everything you want to know from 10 AU out because technobabble.
(post is archived)