<p>I have seen Jupiter and its 4 largest moons in a telescope, several times. The moons are always aligned in a line. This is fine. Very interesting. But.. in case of Saturn, not only that we can see its ring, moons are not aligned in a line. I was wondering why is it so and I came to a conclusion that Saturns axial tilt must be bigger than Jupiters. I have visited english wikipedia and found out that it is true - and that the difference is about 23°.</p>

<p>Why is it so?</p>

<p>I am not a physicist. I do not even study astrophysics, but I wonder why the difference is so big. I came to another conclusion that the rotation speed may play a huge role here. The faster an object is spinning, the smaller axial tilt. And according to wikipedia, there is a difference and it seems that it fits in my theory.</p>

<p>So. I did my research, but now I am not sure if that´s all and if it´s right. I mean, maybe there is another factor that I forgot to count-in. I know that, according to scientists, Jupiter formed before Saturn. Does it mean that the difference in formation answer my question to why the axial tilt &amp; the rotation speed vary so much? Or is it because of the distance to Sun?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-05T15:51:19.360Z
Venus and Mercury have very small axial tilts ( 2.6 and 0.05 degrees, respectively), but they both rotate very slowly.
Peter Erwin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-05T23:49:40.300Z
And there's [Uranus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus#Axial_tilt) which has close to $98^\circ$ axial tilt.
StephenG - Help Ukraine
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-06T19:53:00.187Z
How does this help me with my question ?..
Petr Hykš
<planet><astrophysics><planetary-formation><planetary-science>
Why does the axial tilt & the rotation speed of Saturn & Jupiter vary so much?
Petr Hykš
# Why does the axial tilt & the rotation speed of Saturn & Jupiter vary so much?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-08-05)

I have seen Jupiter and its 4 largest moons in a telescope, several times. The moons are always aligned in a line. This is fine. Very interesting. But.. in case of Saturn, not only that we can see its ring, moons are not aligned in a line. I was wondering why is it so and I came to a conclusion that Saturns axial tilt must be bigger than Jupiters. I have visited english wikipedia and found out that it is true - and that the difference is about 23°.

Why is it so?

I am not a physicist. I do not even study astrophysics, but I wonder why the difference is so big. I came to another conclusion that the rotation speed may play a huge role here. The faster an object is spinning, the smaller axial tilt. And according to wikipedia, there is a difference and it seems that it fits in my theory.

So. I did my research, but now I am not sure if that´s all and if it´s right. I mean, maybe there is another factor that I forgot to count-in. I know that, according to scientists, Jupiter formed before Saturn. Does it mean that the difference in formation answer my question to why the axial tilt & the rotation speed vary so much? Or is it because of the distance to Sun?

**Tags:** planet, astrophysics, planetary-formation, planetary-science

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Venus and Mercury have very small axial tilts ( 2.6 and 0.05 degrees, respectively), but they both rotate very slowly.  
> **username_2**: And there's [Uranus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus#Axial_tilt) which has close to $98^\circ$ axial tilt.  
> **username_0**: How does this help me with my question ?..  

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## 0 answers

