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On the rotation of comet Borrelly’s nucleus

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Abstract

We consider the secular effect of outgassing torques on the rotation of a comet nucleus. An averaging method is applied to obtain evolutionary equations which allow us to study the long-term variations in the nucleus spin state. Since the spin axis direction of 19P/Borrelly’s nucleus is close to the line of apsides direction, a simplified version of these equations can be written to analytically study the most important qualitative effects. In particular, a correlation between the drift of the rotation axis direction and the possible spin up/spin down of the nucleus is revealed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, Moscow, Russia

    V. V. Sidorenko

  2. University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

    D. J. Scheeres

  3. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    S. M. Byram

Authors
  1. V. V. Sidorenko
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  2. D. J. Scheeres
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  3. S. M. Byram
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Correspondence to V. V. Sidorenko.

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Sidorenko, V.V., Scheeres, D.J. & Byram, S.M. On the rotation of comet Borrelly’s nucleus. Celest Mech Dyn Astr 102, 133–147 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10569-008-9160-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10569-008-9160-7

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