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accelerate23
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I know it has something to do with gravitational pull, but I don't know why.
accelerate23 said:I know it has something to do with gravitational pull, but I don't know why.
accelerate23 said:thanks!
Both the moon and the Earth orbit around a common center of mass (barycentre or barycenter), which happens to be about 4700 km from the center of the earth, about 3/4 of the way to the surface of the Earth from the center.accelerate23 said:Why does the moon orbit the Earth, and not the other way around?
The moon orbits the Earth because of the force of gravity. Gravity is a force that pulls objects towards each other, and the strength of this force depends on the mass and distance between the objects. The Earth is much more massive than the moon, so it exerts a stronger gravitational pull on the moon. This causes the moon to orbit around the Earth.
No, the moon cannot orbit the Earth in the opposite direction. This is because the moon's orbit is determined by the Earth's gravity, and this force always pulls the moon towards the Earth in a specific direction. It would require a significant external force to change the moon's orbit direction, which is not possible in our solar system.
The moon's orbit around the Earth is not a perfect circle because of the Earth's gravitational pull varies depending on the distance between the two objects. This is known as the inverse square law, which states that the force of gravity decreases with the square of the distance between the objects. As the moon moves closer or further away from the Earth, the strength of Earth's gravity changes, causing the moon's orbit to become slightly elliptical.
The moon's orbit around the Earth plays a significant role in creating the tides on Earth. The moon's gravitational pull causes the Earth's oceans to bulge out towards the moon, creating high tides. As the Earth rotates, the bulge moves with it, causing a second high tide on the opposite side of the Earth. The moon's gravitational pull also causes a slight bulge in the solid Earth, resulting in small land tides.
Yes, the moon will always orbit the Earth. However, the distance between the two may change over time due to tidal forces. The Earth's gravity causes the moon's orbit to slowly expand, and as a result, the moon is moving away from the Earth at a rate of about 1.5 inches per year. This process is very slow, and it will take millions of years for the moon to significantly affect the Earth's orbit.