seasnake said:
George Jones said:Are you sure that Apollo 13 left mirrors on the Moon?
Stratosphere said:
This is a very good question. Newton could have used his knowledge of the Earth's gravitational force in combination with the moon's sidereal period (Kepler's third law) to calculate the distance to the moon. Laser ranging could verify these relations. These laser measurements are now being used to look for GR effects. Seeseasnake said:
No, the moon is not actually getting further away from the Earth. In fact, it is slowly moving away at a rate of approximately 3.8 centimeters per year. This is due to tidal forces between the Earth and the moon.
No, Newton's laws of gravity are not incorrect. They accurately describe the gravitational forces between the Earth and the moon. However, they do not account for the effects of tidal forces, which can cause the moon's orbit to gradually increase over time.
We know that the moon is moving away from the Earth because of precise measurements of its orbit using techniques such as laser ranging and lunar laser ranging. These measurements have shown that the moon's distance from Earth is increasing over time.
No, the moon will not drift away from the Earth entirely. While it is true that the moon's orbit is gradually increasing, it is also true that the Earth's rotation is gradually slowing down due to tidal forces. Eventually, these two effects will reach an equilibrium, and the moon will remain at a constant distance from the Earth.
The moon's increasing distance from Earth does affect the tides, but the effect is very small and not noticeable to the average person. Tidal forces are still the primary factor in causing tides on Earth, and the moon's distance only plays a minor role in this process.