Asteroid belt in a tidal lock zone

General physics and astronomy discussions not directly related to Celestia
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doctrellor
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Asteroid belt in a tidal lock zone

Post #1by doctrellor » 16.08.2006, 00:25

I am curious, but can one (asteroid belt) exist in an area of tidal lock?
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bdm
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Post #2by bdm » 16.08.2006, 01:17

I see no reason why not. Saturn's rings could be considered as an asteroid belt of tiny asteroids in a tidal lock zone.
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doctrellor
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Post #3by doctrellor » 17.08.2006, 17:55

ok cool, so they can be erratic, or circular orbits?
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ajtribick
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Post #4by ajtribick » 18.08.2006, 20:08

Tides tend to circularise orbits, so they'd likely be on near-circular orbits.
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