Why is the Moon moving away from Earth? Science answers!

Earth’s conditions are interconnected with many other forces of nature, such as the levels of radiation emitted by the Sun. The Moon is also an important part of the functioning of the Earth, It is not surprising that the gravitational pull of the natural satellite creates a phenomenon known as tidal force, which causes the movement of the planet and therefore the movement of the oceans in different regions.

For a long time, human beings had no idea. The Moon is slowly moving away from the EarthThat’s why they built much of the concept of the moon in lunar motion. After all, when looking at the sky with the naked eye, it is impossible to notice any significant changes.

According to the information compiled by scientists, the orbits of the Moon and the Earth have been slowly moving away from each other for a long time. From data detected by the Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment (LLR), It is possible to have an accurate idea that the natural satellite moves at a rate of around 3.8 centimeters per year.

To further explain the fixed distance between the Moon and the Earth, TecMundo gathered information from experts and scientists in this field. Check out!

Moon moving away from Earth

One of the most well-known theories is that the Moon formed as a result of the collision of the celestial body Theia with the Earth approximately 4.5 million years ago. After the impact, a large amount of material from our planet was thrown into space and then went through a gravity process that brought all this material together and formed the magnificent natural satellite.

Apart from ‘the formation of the Moon’, gravity is also largely responsible for the annual distance of 3.8 centimeters. Due to the Moon’s gravitational pull, the Earth suffers from bulges that create instability and slow its rotation.; In this way, our planet loses its energy and angular momentum, thus causing the movement away from the Moon to slow down.

In other words, the faster the rotation, the greater the angular momentum, which is responsible for the phenomenon of gravitational interaction between the Earth and the Moon. The slower it is, the smaller the angular momentum. To maintain this angular momentum, the satellite must move away from our planet.

“It’s not just rotation speed that affects angular momentum. It is also important how far you are from the center of the system. It also means that the angular momentum of the system increases. Getting closer means your angular momentum decreases. As the Earth’s rotation slows, something must increase the angular momentum of the system in order for the angular momentum to be conserved. What increases angular momentum? An object in orbit is like the Moon moving away, astrophysicist Madelyn Broome of the University of California at Santa Cruz said in a message on the website. Live Science.

In any case, it is worth emphasizing that humanity will probably not have any problems with the distance to the Moon; The satellite will never fully escape our orbit. The most likely outcome of everything will be for our Sun to turn into a red giant and ‘swallow’ the Moon and the Earth together.

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