If the Earth is spinning around its axis at a very fast rate why do stars and the moon appear to move slow?

Question

why wouldn't they appear to look like if your looking out from a merry go rounds edge?

Answer 1

Most of these answers are completely wrong or slightly off. The problem with most people is they take what they see as exactly that and nothing more. The truth is the earth is spinning extremely fast much like a merry go round.

The difference is that the merry go round is several thousand times larger than we are. Like one person said it is the relation between sizes and our perception. Just like gravity do you think the people in australia really feel like they are standing upside down? Of course not, because gravity keeps them in place and the earth is so much larger they can't even tell.

We are like intelligent ants compared to the earth and the Universe. If you hold an ant in your hand he doesn't notice the tree sitting a ways away and most likely he doesnt even realize you are another creature. And I would imagine everything we do would seem much slower than everything he is doing on his level.

The difference with us is of course we are highly evolved compared to an ant and are more aware of our surroundings.

Answer 2

The earth isn't spinning very fast especially compared to a merry-go-round. The earth spins once a day or 24 hours. A merry-go-round spins once in 15 seconds or so. If the merry-go-round spun once a day, the things around it would appear to move just as slow as the moon and stars.

All the people that are saying it's because the stars are so far away are incorrect. That would only apply to movement in a straight line. The apparent motion of the stars and moon are caused by the earth's rotation, which primarily just changes the direction you are looking.

Answer 3

Yes, the earth's rotation is over 1,000 miles per hour at the equator.

A complete rotation (day) is 24 hours, or 86400 seconds. It also represents 360 degrees. A single degree, then requires 240 seconds, or four minutes of time. Roughly speaking, the perceived arc of the moon is about 1/2 of a degree. So, it takes two minutes for a star to move the perceived "distance" of the full moon's width.

While the even the nearest stars are incredibly far away, the speed of which the sky dome changes is linked to the earth's rotation.

Answer 4

because we're not only able to view the stars for a few hours. and while we're spinning really fast, we're also on a rock that is really, really big. and these stars are very far away. it's all relativity...if you take a video of the stars moving at night, you'll see that they all rotate around the axis over the course of the night.

Answer 5

It's because of the distance, and perspective too, the faraway distance is break down by earth's ground that makes them appear slow, perspective also play in a role of distance because of the ratio. What I meant about ratio of other planets are their sizes that have view from the ground to sky. Perspective too, the longer distance in the sky in each planet was viewed above which appear small and slower as distance of ratio decreased.

Answer 6

it is NOT spinning around "fast". It takes 24 hours to make one turn! Compare this with the most modest spinning top that makes several turns per second!

Answer 7

The difference is in the distance between the observer and the objects observed, combined with the size of the Universe as a whole. We are but a speck in comparison.

Answer 8

because of how far away they are from u!! get in a car and drive at 50-70 miles an hour and watch the moon, it does not appear to move relavent to your speed.

Answer 9

because of the size of earth and the amount of time it takes for the earth to spin around.

Answer 10

cynthetiq is absolutely right.
The nearest star is 43 trillion kilometres away.
So they move at auch a slow speed.
Speed of earth is quite large. At the equator it is about 1600 km/hr.