| Description |
Though long regarded as one of the least interesting of Saturn's moons, Hyperion has a single, important feature that merits analysis and discussion. Hyperion travels in an orderly orbit around Saturn but, due primarily to its irregular shape and eccentric orbit, it tumbles erratically as it does so. The rotation ofHyperion was the first discovered example of chaos in the solar system, and the discovery of its irregular motion was primarily the work of Jack Wisdom, Stanton Peale, Francois Mignard, and James Klavetter. In 1984, Wisdom, Peale, and Mignard used data obtained from Voyager 2 to perform a complicated analysis ofHyperion's motion. They determined that its rotation would indeed be truly chaotic. James Klavetter set out to prove this result three years later. In 1989, he published a paper displaying his precise measurements of Hyperion' s rotation, and the subsequent result that its rotation was not periodic at all. In another paper published later that year, Klavetter went on to compare the mathematical model ofHyperion constructed by Wisdom, Peale, and Mignard to the model generated by his own observations. The close similarity between these two models supports the claim that Hyperion is indeed rotating on its axis chaotically. A close look at the analysis of Hyperion' s chaotic rotation requires an explanation of some fundamental background concepts, a review of the work of these four astronomers, and; an evaluation of their results. Hyperion does indeed hold some remarkable insights into the origin of satellites and the nature of chaos in our solar system. |
