Planetary Interiors: General Principles
Geometric
Oblateness
- Rotating planets are
oblate spheroids (greater equitorial diameter, call it a, compared with the
diameter along the rotation axis, call it b).
- Geometric oblateness (
 ), or flattening, is measured according to:
Geometric
oblateness reflects a planet's internal properties, if one knows the mass, radius, density
and rotation period. In other words, once those quantities are known for a planet,
and the geometric oblateness is measured, a model of the interior can be developed to
understand the planet's properties!
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