Editing Differential rotation (section)

{{Short description|Variations in rotation rates}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
{{distinguish|Differential rotation matrix}}

'''Differential rotation''' is seen when different parts of a rotating object move with different [[angular velocity|angular velocities]] (or [[rate of rotation|rates of rotation]]) at different [[latitude]]s and/or [[Depth (coordinate)|depths]] of the body and/or in time. This indicates that the object is not [[rigid object|rigid]]. In [[fluid]] objects, such as [[accretion disk]]s, this leads to [[Shearing (physics)|shear]]ing. [[galaxy|Galaxies]] and [[protostar]]s usually show differential rotation; examples in the [[Solar System]] include the [[Sun]], [[Jupiter]] and [[Saturn]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hathaway |first1=David H. |title=Magnetic reversals of Jupiter and Saturn |journal=Icarus |date=July 1986 |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=88–95 |doi=10.1016/0019-1035(86)90177-6 |bibcode=1986Icar...67...88H |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0019103586901776 |access-date=25 April 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Around the year 1610, [[Galileo Galilei]] observed [[sunspots]] and calculated the [[Solar rotation|rotation of the Sun]]. In 1630, [[Christoph Scheiner]] reported that the Sun had different rotational periods at the poles and at the equator, in good agreement with modern values. {{Citation needed|date=May 2018}}