Recent content by Ken Dine

Sorry I was being ponderous, but you threw out that Venus had a -1.08 sidereal rotation rate instead of -0.92, and I had to figure that out and then explain where you were getting 1.08 from. I also had to explain why the sidereal and center-point perspectives always differ by one (1) apparent...

Terrific, a simplistic RULE that seemingly solves everything! However, we were discussing this graphic: Consistent with your stated RULE, the image (our current Earth & moon) on the left does REVOLVE CCW around Earth with a sidereal rotation rate of 27.3, but is the moon in that graphic...

Unless, the co-worker is CORRECT and you're WRONG? The last I looked at our moon, it certainly didn't appear to be rotating when viewed from my backyard? Where are you observing our moon from? Anything in particular I should ingest before seeing this claimed rotational movement of our moon...

Back in the late 1880s synchronous rotation was thoroughly debated, and the majority of English astronomers back then eventually voted against the concept. There are many arguments PRO & CON, but I like this one the best, especially his #5 reason below. Even though this letter was written in...

In order to fully understand the sidereal perspective, then it's imperative to compare the sidereal (OUTSIDE) perspective with the center-point perspective (such as from Earth or from the sun, as the case may be). Let's review your claim that there's only a difference of one (1) rotation...

I think I understand your viewpoint. What's confusing is that the sidereal versus the center-point perspectives always differ by one apparent rotation. E.g., from the sidereal perspective Earth has 366.25 CCW rotations, each 23 hours, 56 minutes and a few seconds long. But from the...

In explaining the above graphic, you say the moon on the left has a typical 1:1 sidereal spin rate: "Tidal lock means the rotation and orbit are synchronous in a 1:1 relationship. That is, it takes the same amount of time to complete one rotation and one orbit. The moon on the left is...