The Effect of Orbital Resonance on the Stability of a Planetary System
by Christopher Lee
Category: STEM
Abstract – A possible idea could be that there might have been extra celestial bodies in the solar system in the distant past, but their resonance with other bodies could have caused them to be ejected out of the system or collide with another body. Orbital resonance in the domain of planetary motion happens when the orbital periods of any two celestial bodies have a simple integer ratio. The objective of this research is to further explore the effects of orbital resonances on the stability of a planetary system. To find out the effect of this resonant cycle on planetary motion, a simulation of the artificial solar system was created. The effect of resonance was measured by the standard deviation of the radius of each planet's orbit. As a result of the simulation, when the ratio of the periods of two plants formed a simple integer fraction, it was confirmed that a clear resonance can be observed. The resonance situation was also found to be significantly reduced just by shifting the resonance fraction by a small percentage. It is expected that this research will provide a better understanding of orbital resonance on the stability of a planetary system.