Our moon spins and orbits around the Earth, which rotates and revolves around the our sun--the center of a solar system, sitting right within the Orion Arm, which probably spins in some aspect of its own, subject to the rotation the entire Milky Way galaxy experiences. Even our galaxy is subject to some movement as the universe expands and mayhap revolves around something bigger than we can imagine. Given the nature of all these things, couldn't we logically suppose there is some sort of "center of the universe" our galaxy revolves about?
Anyway--I'm just wanting to know: exactly why does this occur? My hypothesis is simply that, when a bypassing object comes within range of a gravitational field, it's least difficult route is a spiral path, orbiting the object. Sometimes it'll just be a simple tangent, and miss the orbit altogether. A subquestion might be, why isn't orbital decay a big deal? Why hasn't the Earth fallen into the Sun? Explain centrifugal force?
Thanks.
2007-07-06
11:47:57
·
5 answers
·
asked by
Anonymous
in
Science & Mathematics
➔ Astronomy & Space
"The Moon is in synchronous rotation, meaning that it keeps nearly the same face turned away from Earth at all times. Early in the Moon's history, its rotation slowed and became locked in this configuration as a result of frictional effects associated with tidal deformations caused by the Earth.[6] Nevertheless, small variations resulting from the eccentricity of the lunar orbit, termed librations, allow about 59 percent of the lunar surface to be viewed from Earth.[1]"
Id est, the moon does in fact rotate on its own axis. It just does so in such a fashion that it makes a full rotation once every time it makes its revolution around the Earth. Go ahead and try to imagine what an object would do always having one given side facing inward at a point, revolving around it, yet never rotating. Try doing it with your hand and an imaginary point.
2007-07-07
12:31:16 ·
update #1