Rotation of rigid Venus: a complete precession-nutation model

TL;DR

This paper develops a comprehensive analytical model for Venus's precession and nutation using a Hamiltonian approach, providing new estimates of its rotational parameters based on recent physical data.

Contribution

It presents the first complete precession-nutation model for Venus, incorporating up-to-date physical parameters and a Hamiltonian framework for precise analytical results.

Findings

Precession constant $\dot{\Psi}$ estimated at 4474.35"/Jcy with a 66.5" uncertainty

Largest nutation coefficient in longitude is 2"19 with a 112.35-day period

Nutation coefficients due to Venus's triaxiality are comparable to those from its flattening

Abstract

Context: With the increasing knowledge of the terrestrial planets due to recent space probes it is possible to model their rotation with increasing accuracy. Despite that fact, an accurate determination of Venus precession and nutation is lacking. Aims : Although Venus rotation has been studied in several aspects, a full and precise analytical model of its precession-nutation motion remains to be constructed. We propose to determine this motion with up-to-date physical parameters of the planet Methods: We adopt a theoritical framework already used for a precise precession-nutation model of the Earth, based on a Hamiltonian formulation, canonical equations and an accurate development of the perturbing function due to the Sun. Results: After integrating the disturbing function and applying the canonical equations, we can evaluate the precession constant $\dot{\Psi}$ and the coefficients of nutation, both in longitude and in obliquity. We get $\dot{\Psi}=4474".35/Jcy \pm 66.5 $, corresponding to a precession period of $28965.10 \pm 437$ years. This result, based on recent estimations of the Venus moment of inertia is significantly different from previous estimations. The largest nutation coefficient in longitude with an argument $2L_{S}$ (where $L_{S}$ is the longitude of the Sun) has a 2"19 amplitude and a 112.35 d period. We show that the coefficients of nutation of Venus due to its triaxiality are of the same order of amplitude as these values due to its dynamical flattening, unlike of the Earth, for which they are negligible.