Mars found a deviation similar to Earth from the axis

About a hundred years ago, the American astronomer Seth Carlo Chandlerfound that the objects of imperfect

shapes (for example, planets and their poles) sometimesdeviate from the axis of rotation. This phenomenon became known as the Chandler wobble. Previously, they were noticed only on Earth, where the shift of the rotation poles occurs with a period of 433 days, and their amplitude reaches 15 meters. There is still no exact answer why this happens. Scientists suggest that the fluctuations are influenced by processes in the ocean and in the Earth's atmosphere.

Later, researchers suggested that on otherplanets probably have the Chandler wobble. However, it has not been observed before. The point is that measuring fluctuations on a planetary scale requires precise measurements over many years.

Finally, such data became available to scientiststhanks to the work of space probes that have been orbiting Mars for many years: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey. The data has been collected for 18 years and included measurements of gravitational effects on the spacecraft. It turned out that Mars does have a Chandler wobble. Although, it is worth noting, it is less pronounced than the terrestrial one: the planet deviates from its axis by only 10 cm over a 200-day period.

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