Not to be confused with Synodic period. "Solar day" redirects here. For the measurement of a solar day, see Solar time.

A synodic day (or synodic rotation period or solar day) is the period for a celestial object to rotate once in relation to the star it is orbiting, and is the basis of solar time.

The synodic day is distinguished from the sidereal day, which is one complete rotation in relation to distant stars,[1] which is the basis of sidereal time. This is different from the duration of a synodic day because the revolution of the body around its parent star would cause a single "day" to pass relative to a star, even if the body itself did not rotate.

Earth

Earth's synodic day is the time it takes for the Sun to pass over the same meridian (a line of longitude) on consecutive days, whereas a sidereal day is the time it takes for a given distant star to pass over a meridian on consecutive days.[2] For example, in the Northern Hemisphere, a synodic day could be measured as the time taken for the Sun to move from exactly true south (i.e. its highest declination) on one day to exactly south again on the next day (or exactly true north in the Southern Hemisphere).

For Earth, the synodic day is not constant, and changes over the course of the year due to the eccentricity of Earth's orbit around the Sun and the axial tilt of the Earth.[3] The longest and shortest synodic days' durations differ by about 51 seconds.[4] The mean length, however, is 24 hours (with fluctuations on the order of milliseconds), and is the basis of solar time. The difference between the mean and apparent solar time is the equation of time, which can also be seen in Earth's analemma.[5]

As viewed from Earth during the year, the Sun appears to slowly drift along an imaginary path coplanar with Earth's orbit, known as the ecliptic, on a spherical background of seemingly fixed stars.[6] Each synodic day, this gradual motion is a little less than 1° eastward (360° per 365.25 days), in a manner known as prograde motion.

Certain spacecraft orbits, Sun-synchronous orbits, have orbital periods that are a fraction of a synodic day. Combined with a nodal precession, this allows them to always pass over a location on Earth's surface at the same mean solar time.[7]

The Moon

Due to tidal locking with Earth, the Moon's synodic day (the lunar day or synodic rotation period) is the same as its synodic period with Earth and the Sun (the period of the lunar phases, the synodic lunar month, which is the month of the lunar calendar).

Venus

Due to the slow rotational speed of Venus, its synodic rotation period of 117 Earth days is about half the length of its sidereal rotational period (sidereal day) and even its orbital period.[8]

Mercury

Due to Mercury's slow rotational speed and fast orbit around the Sun, its synodic rotation period of 176 Earth days is three times longer than its sidereal rotational period (sidereal day) and twice as long as its orbital period.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gerard, T. Hooft; Stefan, Vandoren (12 May 2014). Time in Powers of Ten: Natural Phenomena and Their Timescales. ISBN 9789814494939.
  2. ↑ "Sidereal vs. Synodic Motions". Astronomy Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  3. ↑ David W. Hughes; B.D. Yallop; C.Y. Hohenkerk (15 June 1989). "The Equation of Time". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Royal Astronomical Society. 238 (4): 1529–35. Bibcode:1989MNRAS.238.1529H. doi:10.1093/mnras/238.4.1529. ISSN 0035-8711.
  4. ↑ J. M. A. Danby; Jean Meeus (1997). Mathematical Astronomy Morsels. Willmann-Bell. ISBN 978-0-943396-51-4.
  5. ↑ "Equation Of Time". In-The-Sky.org. Dominic Ford. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "The Plane of the Ecliptic". NASA. July 12, 2016.
  7. ↑ "SATELLITES AND ORBITS" (PDF).
  8. ↑ "How long is a day on Venus?". TE AWAMUTU SPACE CENTRE. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  9. ↑ "ESO". ESO. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
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