A MODEL OF THE PLANETARY FIGURE

Authors
SANUDO J ABAD S PACHECO AF
Citation
J. Sanudo et al., A MODEL OF THE PLANETARY FIGURE, Journal of Physics of the Earth, 44(2), 1996, pp. 107-113
Citations number
11
Categorie Soggetti
Geosciences, Interdisciplinary
Journal title
Journal of Physics of the Earth → ACNP
ISSN journal
00223743
Volume
44
Issue
2
Year of publication
1996
Pages
107 - 113
Database
ISI
SICI code
0022-3743(1996)44:2<107:AMOTPF>2.0.ZU;2-L
Abstract
We have developed a simple analytic model, to derive the figure of equ ilibrium of a slowly rotating hydrostatic planet. The mean radius and the oblate eccentricity are calculated by minimizing the total energy of a uniform-density spheroidal mass distribution. We discuss Clairaut 's theory, from its variational perspective, in the light of this mode l.