In statistical orbital mechanics, a body's dynamical lifetime refers to the mean time that a small body can be expected to remain in its current mean motion resonance. Classic examples are comets and asteroids which evolve from the 7:3 resonance to the 5:2 resonance with Jupiter's orbit with dynamical lifetimes of 1-100 Ma.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ Zhou, Ji-Lin; Sun, Yi-Sui (2005). "Dynamical evolution of extrasolar planetary systems". In Knežević, Zoran; Milani, Andrea (eds.). Dynamics of Populations of Planetary Systems: Proceedings of the 197th Colloquium of the International Astronomical Union Held in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro August 31 - September 4, 2004. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/S1743921304008452. ISBN 0-521-85203-X. S2CID 23021391.