Glossary term: 潮汐鎖定
Description: 潮汐鎖定是指潮汐力改變軌道天體的自轉，從而使天體自轉週期發生變化的過程。月球是潮汐鎖定的一個典型例子。地球引力產生的潮汐力使月球形狀發生輕微變化，拉伸出一個微弱的潮汐隆起，長軸指向地球。當月球繞地球運行時，地球對這個潮汐隆起施加微小的力。如果月球的自轉導致其長軸偏離指向地球的方向，潮汐力會將其拉回，使潮汐隆起再次指向地球。這一過程導致月球總是以同一面朝向地球，因為潮汐鎖定使得月球的自轉週期等於其軌道週期。
然而，這種自轉週期與軌道週期的一對一關係並非所有潮汐鎖定天體都適用。例如，水星由於繞太陽運行的軌道較為橢圓，加之潮汐鎖定的影響，使得水星在每完成兩次繞太陽的公轉時自轉三次。
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Term and definition status: The original definition of this term in English have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher The translation of this term and its definition is still awaiting approval
This is an automated transliteration of the simplified Chinese translation of this term
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