Image Details
Caption: Figure 4.
Similar to Figure 3, but with Thalassa shifted to a slightly larger semimajor axis, outside of the resonance with Naiad. The left-hand simulations did not include Despina, while the right-hand one did. The top panels show the semimajor axis of Thalassa (green) as well as the location of the currently active 69:73 MMR with Naiad (purple) and (in the right-hand plot) the 29:27 resonance with Despina (cyan; the resonant argument is 29λD − 27λθ − 2Ωθ). The bottom panels show the resonant argument 73λθ − 69λν − 4Ων of the Naiad–Thalassa 73:69 resonance. The two-body simulations shows a simple resonance crossing during which the resonant argument avoids the libration center. In the three-body simulation there is also no permanent capture into any resonance, but chaotic interactions between three moons lead to temporary periods of libration in resonance for Naiad and Thalassa.
© 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.