On the variations in the insolation at Mercury resulting from oscillations of the orbital eccentricity

dc.contributor.author	Van Hemelrijck, E.
dc.date	1983
dc.date.accessioned	2017-06-28T12:59:33Z
dc.date.available	2017-06-28T12:59:33Z
dc.identifier.uri	https://orfeo.belnet.be/handle/internal/5920
dc.description	This paper describes variations in the insolation on Mercury resulting from fluctuations of the orbital eccentricity (0.11≤e≤0.24) of the planet. Equations for the instantaneous and the daily insolation are briefly discussed and several numerical examples are given illustrating the sensitivity of the solar radiation to changes in e. Special attention is paid to the behavior of the solar radiation distribution curves near sunrise and sunset which at the warm pole of Mercury (longitudes ±90°) occur as the planet goes through perihelion. It has been found that for eccentricities larger than about 0.194 there exists two permanent thermal bulges on opposite sides of the Mercurian surface that alternately point to the Sun at every perihelion passage. The critical value of e past which the Sun shortly sets after perihelion is near 0.213.
dc.language	eng
dc.title	On the variations in the insolation at Mercury resulting from oscillations of the orbital eccentricity
dc.type	Article
dc.subject.frascati	Physical sciences
dc.audience	Scientific
dc.source.title	The Moon and the Planets
dc.source.volume	29
dc.source.issue	1
dc.source.page	83-93
Orfeo.peerreviewed	Yes
dc.identifier.doi	10.1007/BF00928377
dc.identifier.scopus	2-s2.0-34250148911