For example... the earth is constantly spinning
such that the SUN spins by, however, the Moon
spins such that the same side always faces the
Earth. WHY is this?
2006-12-06 03:25:47 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
sorry, beats the crap outa me...
2006-12-09 18:27:46 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because of Earth's tidal effect on the Moon.
The near side of the Moon is closer to the Earth than the far side of the Moon. The force of gravity diminishes as the square of the distance. F = G * m1 * m2 / d^2.
Therefore, the near side is attracted a little more by the Earth than the far side. However, the entire Moon orbits around Earth based on the position of its centre.
The near side wants to fall faster towards the Earth. The far side, by comparison, is going too fast to compensate for the lesser pull.
The result is a tension that causes the Moon to keep its orientation relative to the Earth's gravity field.
Check Wikipedia at Tidal_Locking
The Earth is also being slowed down by the tidal effects of the Moon and the Sun (with the Moon's being the stronger of the two). However, the Earth is more massive than the Moon and will take much longer to slow down.
2006-12-06 11:51:15 · answer #2 · answered by Raymond 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The theory is the moon was created from a major Earth collision about 4 billion years ago. We know that the moon was much closer to the earth in prehistoric times, and the tides were much stronger. The theory is something major hit the earth, and the moon was splashed out from the chaos. We know from mood rocks that the oldest rocks all date from this point, and none are younger. When the mood was formed, the heaviest side would face the earth, and has done so ever since.
2006-12-06 11:35:17 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Some say that the gravitational effect of the earth's oceans cause this, but I personally think that it's because the moon was once part of the earth until an asteroid ("Orpheus") collided with the earth. During the separation, the moon was slung around still attached for a while, then when it separated, it retained the rotation that coincided with its orbit.
2006-12-06 11:37:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
its believed that this is caused by friction inside both bodies interior. gravitation attracts different layers of material causing this friction, which then eats up angular momentum.
since the earth has more mass the outcome was that the moon is in sync now, and the earth is still rotating
this process still continues, but its result is different...
2006-12-06 12:19:29 · answer #5 · answered by blondnirvana 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If a planet (the moon) is not perfectly round, tidal effects will eventually stop it's spin relative to the earth
2006-12-06 11:40:50 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋