- #1
Cyrus
- 3,238
- 16
Thanks for you help on the first post. I just have two follow up questions. So I understand now that the moons acceleration is part of its circular orbit, but what about the acceleration of the earth. How can I picture that? If I consider the Earth stationary, then the moon orbits the earth, and it would seem that only the moon uses its acceleration vector as centripital. How does the Earth use its acceleration? Also, I was wondering about planetary collisions. Say a body was moving through space and then the Earth got in its way. I would guess that if it was moving straight for the earth, it would smash right into it, speeding up according to Newtons gravitation equation in the process. But what if it is skewed, so that it does not head right for the planet, but perhaps is a little bit off. Is there any easy way to determine if it would become a satelite, or would it be deflected off into space, following a new curve?
Thanks again,
Cyrus
Thanks again,
Cyrus