Orientation of Figures of Small Planetary Satellites During Chaotic Rotation

The effect of the preferred orientation of the largest axis of the satellite’s figure toward the planet during chaotic rotation is considered by means of numerical experiments. It has been found that the effect is most noticeable in the chaotic dynamics of small satellites with an orbital eccentricity e ≤ 0.005; this may impede the identification of the chaotic rotation of the satellite if the observation series is not sufficiently long. It is shown that the effect is present in the possible chaotic rotational dynamics of 30% of the known small satellites of the planets of the Solar System.