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Will the moon ever finally fall to Earth without some outside force acting upon it?
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
If the moon's orbit were decaying -- many satellite orbits do in fact decay -- it would indeed crash into Earth one day. But the average orbital distance from Earth is increasing, not decreasing, for reasons that have nothing to do with the relative masses of the Earth and moon. Because the Earth rotates a bit faster than the moon orbits Earth, the so-called "tidal bulge" is always slightly ahead of the moon. This actually exerts a force on the moon that increases its total kinetic energy that, in turn, increases its orbital radius.
the earths gravitational pull isn't that strong, the moon just orbits.
(Another reply) It certainly does fall! It is constantly accelerating towards Earth (note 1). If there were no Earth gravity, the Moon would go in a straight line. As it is, the Earth's gravity is strong enough to force the Moon to move approximately in a circle - really in an elipse, around the Earth.
Note 1: Acceleration means a change in velocity; to specify velocity, you need the speed (magnitude), and the direction. Thus, if the direction of the speed changes, there is acceleration.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
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Two main outside forces acting on most anything on earth are?
Gravity and friction
Do you live inside of the earth or outside of the earth?
outside
Is earth inside or outside?
The earth is outside. You could tell because all living things are on the outside. So ya, the earth is on the outside.
The outside of the earth is called what?
the outside of the earth is called the (crust).
Is outside the earth's atmosphere outdoors?
No, outside Earth's atmosphere is space.
The force of gravity acting upon the mass of an object?
That's usually called the object's "weight". Like say if you're talking about the forces of gravity between you and the Earth, the force of gravity acting on you is your weight on the Earth, and the force of gravity acting on the Earth is the Earth's weight on you, and they're equal.
What would happen if intertia were acting on earth?
Earth would stay the same
Is earth inside or outside the asteroid?
outside
Does the sun effect earths orbit?
Well without the sun the Earth would probably move to another part of the universe and start orbiting around another large object. But assuming that the Earth is orbiting our Sun, yes the sun does effect our orbit. When the Earth is at Perihelion (closest to the sun during the Earth's orbit) the Earth moves at its fastest. The reason being the gravitational force acting on the Earth from the Sun is stronger (due to newton's law of gravitation: gravitational force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance). Finally, to put it simply, yes, it makes the Earth move faster or slower through its orbit.
What are the layers of the earth in order from the center to the outside of the planet?
What is the order of the center of the earth to the outside.
Is the Earth's crust on the outside of the Earth?
Yes
What would happen if only intertia were acting on earth?
Earth would stay the same
