How in the world did the moon end up with its orbit more or less on the ecliptic?

Question

I think the only explanation for this is the creaton account in Genesis. God created the moon to be the "lesser" light. It makes sense that God would put it on or close to the ecliptic.

Lucid Jane - It would not have ended up there according to the impact theory of its origin. Or according to other theories. No way. Its too perfect.

Vincent - There is no way all the complexity around us, particularly in life, that it resulted from that description of origin alone. No way. Also, you do not have to believe in the "young Earth" belief, if you accept Genesis. There are different interpretations.

braxton paul - What other explanation could there be for the uniqueness of people on the Earth, from all other life. People are obviously special. Particularly mentally and spiritually. We stand out.
Genesis 1:27 And God created man in his image.

injanier - Ok, tell why people stand out like a sore thumb from the animal kingdom? All you can say is we do not. We are just like a cow or a dog. The truth is God created people in his image. That explains it.

Answer 1

the moon is an artificial satellite.
i won't say any more because you wouldn't believe me anyway...

Answer 2

It is 5 degrees off of the ecliptic, which is not all that close when you compare it to the orbits of all of the other planets.

The question you are really asking is "why is the angular momentum within the Earth-Moon system oriented roughly in the same direction as the angular momentum of the Earth's orbit around the sun?" This is simply what happens when a buncha stuff forms out of a slowly turning cloud that collapses into a dusty disk.

Incidentally, Genesis chapter 1 is nearly a word for word translation of the older pantheistic Babylonian creation myth, down to the "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: " with the plural in there because the gods were sitting around trying to figure out what form to make their servant so they wouldn't have to toil in the fields themselves. The implied conflict with one of the most basic tenants of the Judeo-Christian tradition puts it at odds with a role as reliable source of information.

As you say, the bible is open to interpretation as opposed to a literal text. Why can't God's creation involve a collision of a mars mass body with the proto-earth to create a moon?

Answer 3

(sigh...) All the planets and moons of the solar system, with the notable exception of Uranus moons (which are tilted along with the axis of the plante itslef), are more or less on the ecliptic. That is because the ecliptic is more or less the equator of the sun. And that was more or less the plane of the flattening spinning disk of condensing gas that eventually formed the sun and the planets.

And if you are serious about space and astronomy, don't use the bible as a reference.

Answer 4

I'm with Braxton_Paul on this one. Any basic description of current theories of solar system formation would explain how things wind up in roughly the same plane. I must conclude that your ignorance is voluntary.

Edit: So what you're saying is, we're sentient and animals aren't, therefore cosmology is wrong?

Answer 5

I came late to this question and so can see that you're not looking for an answer but just want to preach and try to save us heathens. I was going to research and cite references to answer the question, but instead of wasting my time I'll just let you do it...knowing full well that you won't.