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
Famous quotes containing the words relation between, relation, sidereal and/or periods:
“There is a certain standard of grace and beauty which consists in a certain relation between our nature, such as it is, weak or strong, and the thing which pleases us. Whatever is formed according to this standard pleases us, be it house, song, discourse, verse, prose, woman, birds, rivers, trees, room, dress, and so on. Whatever is not made according to this standard displeases those who have good taste.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
“There is a relation between the hours of our life and the centuries of time. As the air I breathe is drawn from the great repositories of nature, as the light on my book is yielded by a star a hundred millions of miles distant, as the poise of my body depends on the equilibrium of centrifugal and centripetal forces, so the hours should be instructed by the ages and the ages explained by the hours.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Perhaps our eyes are merely a blank film which is taken from us after our deaths to be developed elsewhere and screened as our life story in some infernal cinema or despatched as microfilm into the sidereal void.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“How easily and cleverly do I write just now! I am really pleased with myself; words come skipping to me like lambs upon Moffat Hill; and I turn my periods smoothly and imperceptibly like a skilful wheelwright turning tops in a turning-loom. There’s fancy! There’s simile!”
—James Boswell (1740–1795)