Gravitational N-body dynamical systems usually have only the current positions and velocities of the bodies as the observational evidence of their past history. The traces of their past behavior exist only as conceptual, theoretically computed orbits. However, the Laplace orbital resonance among the galilean satellites actually leaves a visible record of its behavior in a surprising and seemingly unlikely form: Linear traces in distinctive geometric patterns clearly visible on the surface of the satellite Europa are a direct recording of the effect of the orbital resonance.
展开▼
