A new determination of the rotation period of the planet Mars
Abstract
A critical examination of the materials available for improvement of the Martian rotation period leads to the exclusion of the old drawings; modern observations, principally central meridian transits of 1877-1952, give the sidereal period 24h 22.6679 + (m.e.). This is a 25-fold increase in weight over the last definitive published results. The most probable position of the Martian north rotational pole is R.A. = 317?3, Dec. = $53?9 (1905 .o). The approaching feasibility of detecting analogies to the irregular fluctuations in the Earth's rotation is pointed out for .
- Publication:
-
The Astronomical Journal
- Pub Date:
- August 1953
- DOI:
- 10.1086/106835
- Bibcode:
- 1953AJ.....58..145A