orbital mechanics

ORBITAL MECHANICS

The magnetosphere of Jupiter sweeps up ionized gases and dust from Io’s thin atmosphere at a rate of 1 tonne per second. This material is mostly ionized sulfur, oxygen, chlorine and sodium chloride dust. Io orbits Jupiter with a velocity of 17 km/sec. The Io plasma torus rotates with a velocity of about 74 km/sec. Since Io is embedded in the Io plasma torus, the torus plasma flows past Io with a relative velocity of 57 km/sec.

The ionized rotating cores of stars and planets transform the momentum of moving charges into dipole moments and the sum of moments is captured by their fields which increases the momentum of orbiting ions in the direction of core rotation and powers the high velocity ring current of heavy ions ejected from Io’s volcanoes. The current is blocked by Io’s mass, reducing the velocity of orbiting ions which increases Io’s orbital velocity.

Scientists thought they knew the rate at which Titan is moving away from Saturn, but they recently made a surprising discovery: Using data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, they found Titan drifting a hundred times faster than previously understood — about 4 inches/year.

Titan and Io propogate field lines, grounded on the lunar surface, around their orbital paths which capture electrons from the solar wind, electrify the lunar surface and induce a voltage potential between the lunar surface and core where electrons transform into field lines, photons transform into protons. Protons and electrons transform into elements, which increases Titan and Io’s mass and orbital momentum.

Juneau dedects massive magma lake near Io’s South Pole larger than Earth’s Lake Superior, and belches out eruptions six times the total energy of all the world’s power plants. Io’s volcanism has led to formation of hundreds of volcanic centers. Lava flows tens or hundreds of kilometers long have primarily basaltic composition, similar to lavas seen on Earth at shield volcanoes such as Kilauea in Hawaii.

Orbital momentum is the product of the mass, velocity and orbital distance of an orbiting body which balances gravity between the orbiting and orbited body. Increasing the mass or velocity has a multiplier effect on the momentum of an orbiting body, which increases the orbital distance and decreases gravity as the orbital distance increases.

The three Galilean satellites are involved in orbital resonance, in which the orbital periods of Ganymede, Europa and Io are in a near 1:2:4 ratio and the mutual conjunctions of the Io–Europa pair and of the Europa–Ganymede pair precess around Jupiter at precisely the same rate.

…one model suggests this resonance was progressively achieved after Io moved outward into a near 2:1 resonance with Europa, and then the Io–Europa pair moved outward until Ganymede was captured into its own near 2:1 resonance with Europa.

The six planets of HD110067 form successive pairs of 3:2, 3:2, 3:2, 4:3, and 4:3 resonances, resulting in the closest planet completing six orbits while the outer-most planet does one.