2006-10-03 10:15:22 · 8 answers · asked by vanbismarck004 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
what i mean by flipping is by turning around by the axis
2006-10-03 10:19:42 · update #1
what does the moon do to act as the stabilizer?
2006-10-03 10:21:09 · update #2
Flipping? Not really, but the moon does make the earth nod. See the moon's orbit around the earth is not exactly on the earth's equator. It's on the ecliptic. So sometimes the moon is north of the equator and sometimes it is south of the equator, depending on the moon's phase and the time of year, etc.
Now the earth is not a perfect sphere. It is an oblate spheroid. It resembles a slightly overweight basketball. That means it is a little larger around the middle than at the poles. This is called the "equatorial bulge" and is a result of the earth's spin.
When the moon is north of the equator, it actually pulls on that equatorial bulge and makes the earth nod northward just a little bit. When the moon is south of the equator it does the same thing and makes the earth nod southward a little bit.
This is a continuous ongoing cycle.
So the moon does make the earth nod, but not flip, nor does it prevent any flipping.
2006-10-03 11:37:40 · answer #1 · answered by sparc77 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
YES. Or computer simulations have shown this to be true. The moon orbiting the earth has more angular momentum than just the earth alone. It is believed that without it, the earth's rotation axis would not be as stable as it is. I don't think it is as drastic as the earth "flipping" but more like prevents it from wobbling. The wobbling would be slow, but it is believed that if the earth did wobble more, life would not have developed on it.
Mars is believed to fall victim to its axis wobbling.
2006-10-04 04:07:27 · answer #2 · answered by Kevin R 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. The moon is in a geosynchronous orbit with the planet. The moon does affect the tides of the planet. This is caused by the moons gravitational pull.
If the moon was to leave our orbit, it would have disastrous effects on our weather patterns and the tides......but the planet would not flip or spin out of control.
2006-10-03 17:32:59 · answer #3 · answered by Canadian Ken 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, the Moon acts as a stabilizer to the Earth. If it were to leave, we would spin like crazy with no order at all, much faster and in days and nights would vary as well as temperatures.
2006-10-03 17:19:07 · answer #4 · answered by Ghidorah 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. The Moon doesn't control anything except the tides, and even if it does affect the Earth's movement, it is too minimal and too close to the Equator to make much difference.
2006-10-03 18:18:27 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
what do you mean by flipping? The earth is a ball, so i guess the word flipping doesnt really apply.
2006-10-03 17:17:58 · answer #6 · answered by snoboarder2k6 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, when the earth is ready to flip, all the garden gnomes on the planet immediately rush to one of the poles and jump up and down to make it stop.
2006-10-03 17:17:42 · answer #7 · answered by stevewbcanada 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Try some of these websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon#Orbit_and_relationship_to_Earth
and here's a real noddy version
http://www.astronomy-for-kids-online.com/themoon.html
2006-10-03 17:29:55 · answer #8 · answered by sweetpea 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋