So then, if the shape of the moon's orbit DOES have an effect on the rotatoin rate, albeit a very small one, what would have to change for that effect to be a great one? THe mass of the moon to increase a zillion fold? The eccentricty of the orbit to change radically so that the effect would...
well, I'm not interested in the moons rotation, though i guess that's moot since in te system, both bodes are essentially moons of one another.
The Earth's rotation slows due to the moon's tidal force, and as a result the moon moves further away, conserving angular momentum. So the Earth's'...
If a planet had a large massive satellite, on a long elliptical orbit, would the planet's rotation slow and speed up depending on the distance of the moon from the planet?
I'm thinking of how a skater, the classical example of angular momentum, speeds up when bringing in her arms, and slows...