Uploaded January 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Tidal locking is when the rotation of a planet or moon is equal to its orbital period. It's actually quite common in our solar system and likely elsewhere. How does that actually happen though?
Nick Lucid - Host/Writer/Editor/Animator
Sean Reese - Researcher
________________________________
VIDEO ANNOTATIONS/CARDS
Earth Surface Scale:
youtu.be/jffQVdJdoKQ
Life Cycle of the Sun:
youtu.be/GltTRdM1RW4
________________________________
RELATED YOUTUBE VIDEOS
MinutePhysics on Tidal Locking:
youtu.be/6jUpX7J7ySo
________________________________
SUPPORT THE SCIENCE ASYLUM
Patreon:
patreon.com/ScienceAsylum
YouTube Membership:
youtube.com/channel/UCXgNowiGxwwnLeQ7DXTwXPg/join
Advanced Theoretical Physics (Paperback):
lulu.com/shop/nick-lucid/advanced-theoretical-physics-a-historical-perspective/paperback/product-24250687.html
Advanced Theoretical Physics (eBook):
gumroad.com/l/ubSc
Merchandise:
scienceasylum.com
________________________________
HUGE THANK YOU TO THESE SUPPORTERS
Asylum Counselors:
Matthew O'Connor, Nikolaos Vasiloglou II
Asylum Orderlies:
Dhruv Singhal, Fabio Manzini, Medec Hurtz
Einsteinium Crazies:
Bosphorus, Eoin O'Sullivan, Ilya Yashin, Jonathan Lima, Joseph Salomone, OnlineBookClub, Sean K, Wacky, Blank NA, Flying Monkey, Christopher Schiele
Plutonium Crazies:
Al Davis, Compuart, Ellis Hall, Kevin MacLean, Madhu Subbu, Rick Myers, Vid Icarus
Platinum Crazies:
André Weyermann, Benjamin Dixon, Benjamin Reynolds, Clayton Bruckert, David Johnston, James Coley, Jon Adams, Jonas Wepeel, Jonathan Reel, Kyle Bowles, Marino Hernandez, Mikayla Eckel Cifrese, Mr. Orn Jonasar, Olga Cooperman, Patrick Mathieson, Stephen Blinn, Stephen Gailey, Tom Hawking, Don Wilshe
________________________________
OTHER SOURCES
General Info:
https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~blackman/ast104/tidal.html
haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/essays/1995-11-the-tidal-force.php
phys.org/news/2013-10-explanation-rotational-state-mercury.html
nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/news/mro-20080409.html
eso.org/public/outreach/eduoff/vt-2004/Background/Infol2/EIS-A3.html
solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/saturn-moons/in-depth
solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/pluto-moons/charon/in-depth
nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html
nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html
Deeper Reading:
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103596901177
aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2011/04/aa15809-10/aa15809-10.html
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10569-017-9783-7
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspa.1909.0008
"Mercury" by T.J. Mahoney
books.google.com/books?id=iC65BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA44
"Physics and Chemistry of the Solar System" by John Lewis
books.google.com/books?id=35uwarLgVLsC&pg=PA242
"Solar System Dynamics" by Carl D. Murray, Stanley F. Dermott
books.google.com/books?id=aU6vcy5L8GAC&pg=PA184
________________________________
LINKS TO COMMENTS
youtube.com/watch?v=zYRx6Zub3cA&lc=UgwNZH0FkuC_U0HvyqZ4AaABAg
youtube.com/watch?v=zYRx6Zub3cA&lc=UgxcqK50FO126H6CAup4AaABAg
youtube.com/watch?v=zYRx6Zub3cA&lc=UgzVEgFii8-rWCWi3oF4AaABAg
youtube.com/watch?v=zYRx6Zub3cA&lc=UgyHLhrH-wv2bkjBDLh4AaABAg
________________________________
IMAGE CREDITS
Moon Phases:
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4874
Tide Animations:
moon.nasa.gov/moon-in-motion/tides
Mars's Moons:
mars.nasa.gov/resources/6141/martian-moon-deimos-in-high-resolution
mars.nasa.gov/resources/6989/mars-moon-phobos
Jupiter's Moons:
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00583
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19048
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00716
solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/217/capturing-callisto/?category=moons/jupiter-moons_callisto
Saturn's Moons:
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21624
solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/saturn-moons/rhea/in-depth
solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/saturn-moons/iapetus/in-depth
Pluto and Charon:
nasa.gov/feature/pluto-and-charon-new-horizons-dynamic-duo
Trappist-1:
nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/PIA21751/trappist-1-system-artist-concept
________________________________
TIME CODES:
00:00 Cold Open
00:23 Introduction
00:49 Resonance
03:25 Tidal Bulges
06:05 The Factors
09:15 Outro
09:33 Featured Comment
________________________________
Corrections:
8:51 My statement about "eyeball planets" lacks nuance. Please read the comment from a NASA climate scientist for more details. Link is in pinned comment.
Tidal locking is when the rotation of a planet or moon is equal to its orbital period. It's actually quite common in our solar system and likely elsewhere. How does that actually happen though?
Nick Lucid - Host/Writer/Editor/Animator
Sean Reese - Researcher
________________________________
VIDEO ANNOTATIONS/CARDS
Earth Surface Scale:
youtu.be/jffQVdJdoKQ
Life Cycle of the Sun:
youtu.be/GltTRdM1RW4
________________________________
RELATED YOUTUBE VIDEOS
MinutePhysics on Tidal Locking:
youtu.be/6jUpX7J7ySo
________________________________
SUPPORT THE SCIENCE ASYLUM
Patreon:
patreon.com/ScienceAsylum
YouTube Membership:
youtube.com/channel/UCXgNowiGxwwnLeQ7DXTwXPg/join
Advanced Theoretical Physics (Paperback):
lulu.com/shop/nick-lucid/advanced-theoretical-physics-a-historical-perspective/paperback/product-24250687.html
Advanced Theoretical Physics (eBook):
gumroad.com/l/ubSc
Merchandise:
scienceasylum.com
________________________________
HUGE THANK YOU TO THESE SUPPORTERS
Asylum Counselors:
Matthew O'Connor, Nikolaos Vasiloglou II
Asylum Orderlies:
Dhruv Singhal, Fabio Manzini, Medec Hurtz
Einsteinium Crazies:
Bosphorus, Eoin O'Sullivan, Ilya Yashin, Jonathan Lima, Joseph Salomone, OnlineBookClub, Sean K, Wacky, Blank NA, Flying Monkey, Christopher Schiele
Plutonium Crazies:
Al Davis, Compuart, Ellis Hall, Kevin MacLean, Madhu Subbu, Rick Myers, Vid Icarus
Platinum Crazies:
André Weyermann, Benjamin Dixon, Benjamin Reynolds, Clayton Bruckert, David Johnston, James Coley, Jon Adams, Jonas Wepeel, Jonathan Reel, Kyle Bowles, Marino Hernandez, Mikayla Eckel Cifrese, Mr. Orn Jonasar, Olga Cooperman, Patrick Mathieson, Stephen Blinn, Stephen Gailey, Tom Hawking, Don Wilshe
________________________________
OTHER SOURCES
General Info:
https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~blackman/ast104/tidal.html
haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/essays/1995-11-the-tidal-force.php
phys.org/news/2013-10-explanation-rotational-state-mercury.html
nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/news/mro-20080409.html
eso.org/public/outreach/eduoff/vt-2004/Background/Infol2/EIS-A3.html
solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/saturn-moons/in-depth
solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/pluto-moons/charon/in-depth
nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html
nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html
Deeper Reading:
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103596901177
aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2011/04/aa15809-10/aa15809-10.html
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10569-017-9783-7
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspa.1909.0008
"Mercury" by T.J. Mahoney
books.google.com/books?id=iC65BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA44
"Physics and Chemistry of the Solar System" by John Lewis
books.google.com/books?id=35uwarLgVLsC&pg=PA242
"Solar System Dynamics" by Carl D. Murray, Stanley F. Dermott
books.google.com/books?id=aU6vcy5L8GAC&pg=PA184
________________________________
LINKS TO COMMENTS
youtube.com/watch?v=zYRx6Zub3cA&lc=UgwNZH0FkuC_U0HvyqZ4AaABAg
youtube.com/watch?v=zYRx6Zub3cA&lc=UgxcqK50FO126H6CAup4AaABAg
youtube.com/watch?v=zYRx6Zub3cA&lc=UgzVEgFii8-rWCWi3oF4AaABAg
youtube.com/watch?v=zYRx6Zub3cA&lc=UgyHLhrH-wv2bkjBDLh4AaABAg
________________________________
IMAGE CREDITS
Moon Phases:
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4874
Tide Animations:
moon.nasa.gov/moon-in-motion/tides
Mars's Moons:
mars.nasa.gov/resources/6141/martian-moon-deimos-in-high-resolution
mars.nasa.gov/resources/6989/mars-moon-phobos
Jupiter's Moons:
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00583
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19048
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00716
solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/217/capturing-callisto/?category=moons/jupiter-moons_callisto
Saturn's Moons:
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21624
solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/saturn-moons/rhea/in-depth
solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/saturn-moons/iapetus/in-depth
Pluto and Charon:
nasa.gov/feature/pluto-and-charon-new-horizons-dynamic-duo
Trappist-1:
nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/PIA21751/trappist-1-system-artist-concept
________________________________
TIME CODES:
00:00 Cold Open
00:23 Introduction
00:49 Resonance
03:25 Tidal Bulges
06:05 The Factors
09:15 Outro
09:33 Featured Comment
________________________________
Corrections:
8:51 My statement about "eyeball planets" lacks nuance. Please read the comment from a NASA climate scientist for more details. Link is in pinned comment.
