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.
Read more about this topic: Orbital Period
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