Orbital Period - Relation Between The Sidereal and Synodic Periods

Relation Between The Sidereal and Synodic Periods

Table of synodic periods in the Solar System, relative to Earth:

Sidereal Period (a) Synodic Period (a) Synodic Period (d)
Solar surface 0.069 (25.3 days) 0.074 27.3
Mercury 0.241 (88.0 days) 0.317 115.9
Venus 0.615 (225 days) 1.599 583.9
Earth 1 (365.256 solar days)
Moon 0.0748 0.0809 29.5306
Mars 1.881 2.135 779.9
4 Vesta 3.629 1.380 504.0
1 Ceres 4.600 1.278 466.7
10 Hygiea 5.557 1.219 445.4
Jupiter 11.86 1.092 398.9
Saturn 29.46 1.035 378.1
Uranus 84.32 1.012 369.7
Neptune 164.8 1.006 367.5
134340 Pluto 248.1 1.004 366.7
136199 Eris 557 1.002 365.9
90377 Sedna 12050 1.00001 365.1

In the case of a planet's moon, the synodic period usually means the Sun-synodic period. That is to say, the time it takes the moon to complete its illumination phases, completing the solar phases for an observer on the planet's surface —the Earth's motion does not determine this value for other planets, because an Earth observer is not orbited by the moons in question. For example, Deimos' synodic period is 1.2648 days, 0.18% longer than Deimos' sidereal period of 1.2624 d.

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