Question

What is tidal locking? Can you please explain it in a simplified way

Answer 1

Tidal locking is the name given to the situation when an object's orbital period matches its rotational period. A great example of this is our own Moon. The moon takes 28 days to go around the Earth and 28 days to rotate once around it's axis. This results in the same face of the Moon always facing the Earth.


For example, the same side of the Moon always faces the Earth, although there is some libration because the Moon's orbit is not perfectly circular. A tidally lockedbody in synchronous rotation takes just as long to rotate around its own axis as it does to revolve around its partner.