Linguofreak
Well-known member
Does anybody know of a catalogue of what sorts of orbital resonances are self-stabilizing? For example, a 1:2:4 resonance with the phase relationships of the Galilean moons is self stabilizing, as is a 1:1 resonance with a 60-degree phase difference between the bodies (within certain relative mass ranges), or a 3:2 resonance like that between Neptune and Pluto. But the 1:2:4 resonance used for the moons of Jool in KSP would be unstable if they were subject to real-world gravitational influence over each other. Has anybody ever published a catalogue giving basically a table of resonances listing period ratios, phase differences at some defined point in the cycle, whether the resonance is stable, and limitations on relative masses for stability?