why doesnt the moon fall out of the sky?

Answer 1

Its falling away from the Earth.
It used to be much closer to the Earth.

Answer 2

That's just how orbits work. If the Moon were set stationary relative to the Earth, then yes, after a while it would fall down and collide with the Earth. However, it is not stationary. It is actually revolving around the Earth about once every 28 days. Under these conditions, the gravitational strength of the Earth and the Moon's own momentum cancel each other out, resulting in a stable pattern (known as an 'orbit') in which neither of the two objects end up crashing into each other. The same thing also happens between the Earth and the Sun.

Answer 3

The reason the moon doesn't fall out of the sky is because it is in an orbit around the Earth and the Earth is in an orbit around the sun, the sun around the galaxy etc. So you could say that the moon is constantly falling toward the Earth but its orbital velocity is such that as it falls the curve of the orbit moves away from the Earth and it never get closer to the Earth.

Essentially an orbit is an equilibrium, where the gravity pulling an object toward another object is equally balanced by its velocity spinning around the other object. This is that exact same way thant other satellites spin around the earth but never fall toward it.

Here is another way to understand orbits:
- As the object moves sideways, it falls toward the central body. However, it moves so quickly that the central body will curve away beneath it.
- A force, such as gravity, pulls the object into a curved path as it attempts to fly off in a straight line.

So in fact the moon is not suspended at all, it is constantly held in place by the Earth’s gravity and its orbital velocity.

Answer 4

That is exactly the question that Isaac Newton pondered which led him to his theory of universal gravitation. His reward for asking this (plus a bunch of thinking and hard work) is that he is regarded by many as the greatest scientist in history.

A full explanation of why the moon doesn't fall would take up a lot of space. And I doubt my ability to do it without mistakes, anyway.

But in a nutshell; the moon does fall but it doesn't reach the Earth because it is also "moving sideways". As a result the amount it falls is just cancelled out by the amount the Earth's surface "falls away" from it. The result is orbit. When our satellites, space shuttles, ISS, etc orbit the Earth, they are imitating the moon only at a different distance.

Answer 5

Gravity pulls the moon toward the earth, but the moon is moving so fast in a direction perpendicular to gravity that it misses earth before it gets here. We call this an orbit.

An orbit is achieved when something has sufficient velocity to remain in a state of continuous falling. Think of it like swinging something on a string above your head. You are always pulling toward the center of the string, but the object never comes to the middle, it just keeps going around in a circle.

Answer 6

Wow, there are so many bad answers and angry people willing to insult someone for asking a simple question.

The other answers pretty much nailed it. The moon's inertia means it moves forward at a greater velocity than it falls toward the earth. The moon is not stuck in this orbit, however.

As you read this, the Moon is moving away from us. Each year, the Moon steals some of Earth's rotational energy, and uses it to propel itself about 3.8 centimeters higher in its orbit. Researchers say that when it formed, the Moon was about 14,000 miles (22,530 kilometers) from Earth. It's now more than 280,000 miles, or 450,000 kilometers away.

Answer 7

Reword the question........how does the moon or any other mass maintain the space between it and other accumulations of mass?

Then one has to consider whether mass has a gravitational force which would draw it all together to form one body with all the space in the Universe around it, or whether mass repels mass to maintain the space around it to keep it scattered throughout the Universe.

I would say that mass has no gravitational or anti- gravitational properties. Therefore mass cannot attract or repel mass. Should that not be the case it would be impossible to transmit the force between one mass and another as there are no conductors of energy in Space.

The answer to the question is that mass is inert and the moon cannot move itself or be moved from the place that it occupies in Space.

Answer 8

your assuming gravity is everywhere. its not. gravity only exists near very large things, the farther away something gets from a massive object the less its influenced by its gravity.

the only reason anything falls on earth is because its being pulled towards the center. thats all falling is. in most space there is no gravity so nothing would fall anywhere.

the moon is close enough to the earth that the earths gravity still effects it alot so it is being pulled towards the center of the earth. but its also moving. its moving fast enough that the centrifugal force (force pushing outward due to rotation) counters the gravity and it stays in orbit around the earth. its how the earth stays moving around the sun.

and the moon is not in the sky. its in space, miles and miles above what you perceive as the sky. the sky, basically, doesnt exist. its just light reflecting off of the atmosphere.

Answer 9

for a start the moon is not exactly in the sky, it is in space.

It is spinning round the Earth and wants to fly off but Earth's gravity is pulling on it and that exactly matches the force tending to make it fly off. So it just stays spinning round the Earth.

Just like satelites do.

Think of the moon on a piece of string and being swung round. Gravity is like the string, it stops it flying away.

Answer 10

The moon is orbiting Earth by gravity and inertia. Without gravity, the moon would float off into space. Without inertia, the moon might collide with Earth. Without both, I don't know.