S (the synodic period) = 360 / (360/ P - 360/365.256) days. S (the synodic period) = 360 / (360/365.256 - 360/ P) days. A diagram showing the relationship between orbital size and synodic periods. As the planets move around the Sun they change their positions relative to each other.
Some geologists consider that mantle plumes are generated in the lower levels of the asthenosphere by the decay of concentrations of radioactive isotopes. However, many believe that they are generated at much deeper levels in the lower mantle, perhaps even at the boundary of the mantle with the outer core.
General / Misc. Mantle plumes are areas of hot, upwelling mantle. A hot spot develops above the plume. Magma generated by the hot spot rises through the rigid plates of the lithosphere and produces active volcanoes at the Earth's surface. As oceanic volcanoes move away from the hot spot, they cool and subside, producing older islands, atolls, and seamounts.