gration，atleastforVenus，EarthandMars.TheelementsofMercury，especiallyitseccentricity，seemtochangetoasignificantextent.Thisispartlybecausetheorbitaltime-scaleoftheplanetistheshortestofalltheplanets，whichleadstoamorerapidorbitalevolutionthanotherplanets;theinnermostplanetmaybenearesttoinstability.ThisresultappearstobeinsomeagreementwithLaskar's(1994，1996)expectationsthatlargeandirregularvariationsappearintheeccentricitiesandinclinationsofMercuryonatime-scaleofseveral109yr.However，theeffectofthepossibleinstabilityoftheorbitofMercurymaynotfatallyaffecttheglobalstabilityofthewholeplanetarysystemowingtothesmallmassofMercury.Wewillmentionbrieflythelong-termorbitalevolutionofMercurylaterinSection4usinglow-passfilteredorbitalelements.

    Theorbitalmotionoftheouterfiveplanetsseemsrigorouslystableandquiteregularoverthistime-span(seealsoSection5).

    3.2Time–frequencymaps

    Althoughtheplanetarymotionexhibitsverylong-termstabilitydefinedasthenon-existenceofcloseencounterevents，thechaoticnatureofplanetarydynamicscanchangetheoscillatoryperiodandamplitudeofplanetaryorbitalmotiongraduallyoversuchlongtime-spans.Evensuchslightfluctuationsoforbitalvariationinthefrequencydomain，particularlyinthecaseofEarth，canpotentiallyhaveasignificanteffectonitssurfaceclimatesystemthroughsolarinsolationvariation(cf.Berger1988).

    Togiveanoverviewofthelong-termchangeinperiodicityinplanetaryorbitalmotion，weperformedmanyfastFouriertransformations(FFTs)alongthetimeaxis，andsuperposedtheresultingperi

    -->>(第10/18页)（本章未完，请点击下一页继续阅读）