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Why does the moon orbit the earth

User GuerillaRadio
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2 Answers

17 votes
17 votes

Answer: Earth is larger than the moon, so Earth pulls on the moon.

User Avtomaton
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20 votes
20 votes

Answer:

The moon orbits the earth because earths gravity has warped space. The attractive force of this warping of space causes the moon to perpetually fall towards the earth. I call it falling because it is the acceleration of Earth’s gravity which is pulling the moon toward us. The centrifugal force of the moon’s motion is in perfect balance with Earths gravity. The result: a stable orbit. It’s a little more complicated than that. We mustn’t forget that the earth is gravitationally attracted to the moons gravity also. So the motion of the moon actually overcomes the combine to gravitational attraction of the two bodies, and the stable orbit results.

Step-by-step explanation:

User Aaron Novstrup
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