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How do I find way of comparing the density of the Earth and the Moon?
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[QUOTE="jbriggs444, post: 6846585, member: 422467"] One might attempt a calculation of the orbital period of the moon based on the distance to the moon, surface gravity of the earth and the earth's radius under the assumption that the moon is negligibly massive. Presumably this will give a slightly incorrect answer -- the moon is not negligibly massive. Now repeat the calculation, computing the orbital period of the moon about the earth-moon barycenter, varying the mass of the moon (and the associated location of the barycenter) until the correct answer is obtained. Congratulations. You have weighed the moon. We have enough significant figures for earth size and surface gravity, lunar distance and lunar orbital period that this should be a feasible calculation. [I am not certain about how lunar distance was first calculated. Modern figures are based on laser reflection against a corner reflector placed for the purpose. By the time you can place a corner reflector, you can directly measure lunar surface gravity and eliminate the need for the above convoluted weighing approach. If it were me, I'd probably have used triangulatuion to measure the distance]. [/QUOTE]
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Introductory Physics Homework Help
How do I find way of comparing the density of the Earth and the Moon?
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