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Cassini State

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Definition

When an orbiting body is affected by tides, its spin axis, spin rate, and orbital plane can reach an equilibrium state in which obliquities (tilts) are nonzero. Cassini states are observed in the Earth-Moon system, Triton-Neptune system, and possibly, Europa-Jupiter system. In these cases, the satellite’s obliquity is locked at a small nonzero value, but in general, with large inclinations, the obliquity could be large.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Astronomy Department, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Rory Barnes

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  1. Rory Barnes
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Correspondence to Rory Barnes .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Barnes, R. (2014). Cassini State. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_242-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_242-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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