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pixel01
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Will ever Uranus be tidal-locked by the Sun?
LowlyPion said:This offers a good overview:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_locking
The formula they show for Time to tidal locking in the case of Uranus would look to be dominated by the a^6 term describing its orbital semi-major axis.
And this does not take into account the tidal locking of the other objects that are tidal locked to Uranus.
I'd say the sun expiry would intervene long before there would be a tidal locking of Uranus to the sun.
pixel01 said:Uranus rotation axis nearly lies on its orbiting plane. So I am not sure whether one day Uranus is locked to the Sun just like Earth-Moon system or it is just free of that.
Tidal locking is a phenomenon where a celestial body, such as a planet or moon, has one side constantly facing its parent body due to the effects of tidal forces.
No, Uranus is not tidally locked. It rotates on its axis once every 17 hours and 14 minutes, which is much faster than its orbital period around the Sun (84 Earth years).
Tidal locking occurs due to the gravitational pull of a larger body on a smaller one. As the smaller body rotates, the larger body's gravity pulls on it, causing its rotation to slow down until it becomes tidally locked.
Yes, Uranus is affected by tidal forces from its moons. However, due to its relatively small moons and their distance from the planet, the effect is not as significant as on other planets such as Jupiter or Saturn.
Tidal locking can lead to a number of effects, such as a planet's rotation and orbit becoming synchronized, changes in its weather patterns, and the formation of tidal bulges on its surface. It can also affect the distribution of heat and potentially impact the planet's habitability.