2007-07-02 05:11:06 · 26 answers · asked by vgplamondon 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The moon is not getting close to not is the earth getting closer to either. The moon is captured by the earths gravity pull and holds it into position so that it can be affluent towards its onboard water systems. Thus high and low tides.
On a more regular basis the eclipse of the moon is not always the same. Notice that one cycle might be lower on the horizon and the next one very high in the sky. Or myths about the moon going around the earth once every twentyfour hours! Poppycock! If in the summer months you take note of where the moon is early in the morning and then follow it all day long then by the end of the day it is still in the heavens and quite visible. Thus stating a true fact the the moon does not go around the earth as is believed. It has a geo-stationary orbit which seems to rotate but then not around the earth. If this were true then the moon would be seen at any given time 12 hours at least in a sky near you. Except it isn't and it's not here either on the other side of the globe. Unusual orbits huh? Complex? Its not wonder they termed it a new moon! As an experiment you should check out your local viewpoint of the moon and take notes of its appearance, position and where..then follow through a few hours later until the moon disappears over the horizon.
2007-07-02 05:25:14 · answer #1 · answered by upyerjumper 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The moon and Earth are actually getting further apart. By way of your question, since the moon is circling the Earth, it is the moon that is increasing its distance from the Earth.
If, say for your example, they WERE getting CLOSER, then the answer would be both. Due to both of their gravities, they both would be pulling each other closer. Of course since the Earth is larger, it would have a greater effect than the moon, however, the moon would still have an effect nonetheless.
As stated before, the moon is actually drifting away from the Earth slightly more each year. This is due to the fact that the moon is just SLIGHTLY outside of the Earth's geosynchronous orbit for the moons orbital velocity. That basically means that the moon will increasingly distance itself from the Earth and has zero chance of ever coming back. If it were inside the geosynchronous orbit, it would be coming closer to the Earth and eventually would crash into it. For reference, modern day satellites are actually perfectly in geosynchronous ourbit, so they are at exactly the same distance from Earth at all times.
2007-07-02 05:17:28 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's actually getting further away by a few centimeters a year. The brightness of the moon is more about how much of it is reflecting sun back at us, and several environmental factors. Last night was nice full moon. Plenty bright to read by! Also. The humidity may have been low where you were, there may have been a breeze keeping the particulate content of the air nice and low, and the power outage meant that almost no light pollution was interfering. That kind of thing. Look again in 28 days. Should be about the same, but the moon will be about 2 millimeters further away on average!
2016-05-21 02:27:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well technically we say that the moon is getting further away from the earth. However, in reality its more like they are getting further apart from each other. The earth and the moon are bound together by gravity, and the forces that are causing the moon to move further away must also act on the earth; also the force of gravity decreases which will perturb the earth's orbit as well.
2007-07-02 05:27:58 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Astronaunts placed a mirror on the moon and scientists can bounce a laser beam off the mirror and measure the amount of time it takes the beam of light to make the round trip. Based on that measurment the scientists have calculated the moon is moving away from the earth at about 1.5 inches per year.
2007-07-02 05:26:11 · answer #5 · answered by Gary 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, the moon and earth move closer together and then move farther away from each other twice a month. This is because the moon's orbit is elliptical. However, over time, the orbit is getting bigger and bigger. Thus, the average distance between the moon and earth is increasing.
2007-07-02 07:49:14 · answer #6 · answered by Egghead 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Neither. Actually the moon is moving away from the earth very slowly and will eventually fall out of orbit entirely
2007-07-02 05:12:49 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
Both. The Earth and the Moon are getting closer to each other, but because the Earth is more massive than the Moon, the Moon is moving more than the Earth is.
2007-07-02 05:13:09 · answer #8 · answered by knivetsil 2 · 1⤊ 5⤋
the moon isn't getting closer to Earth, or vice versa.
the moon is slowly moving away from Earth.
2007-07-02 05:18:32 · answer #9 · answered by ayy 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Neither, the Moon drifts away at the rate of about three centimeters a year.
2007-07-02 05:14:32 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋