Planetary Science Seminar spring-2015

The Cassini mission radar data have given an unprecedentedly accurate picture of the rotation of Titan. I will describe the data, and on-going efforts to model and understand the rotational variations.

In previous studies, it was claimed that Titan exhibits non-synchronous rotation. The current analysis clarifies that situation. There are small variations in the rate of rotation, but they are driven by variations in the orbit. Titan appears to be a synchronous rotator, in the sense of keeping its axis of least inertia oriented toward Saturn. The largest deviation from uniform rotation is at a period of 640 days, and is a response to variations in orbital mean longitude associated with the 4:3 mean motion resonance with Hyperion. This variation will presumably drive interesting motions within the fluid interior.