Thread: Moon Landing
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Old Sep 6, 2007, 08:39 pm   #135 (permalink) (top)
Chris
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Location: Nashville
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Quote:
Quote by: Zeebadee View Post
"Because the Moon is also orbiting around the Earth. If the Moon didn't rotate about its axis, here's what would happen. One side would be facing us right now; two weeks later, when the Moon has gone halfway in its orbit around the Earth, the opposite side of the Moon would be facing us. Here's a picture (the Earth and the Moon should really be spheres, of course, not squares):

E A R T H
E A R T H moon
E A R T H moon
E A R T H moon
E A R T H

After the Moon has gone halfway in its orbit around the Earth, if the Moon didn't spin on its axis, the picture would look like this:

........ E A R T H
moon E A R T H
moon E A R T H
moon E A R T H
........ E A R T H

Notice that we on the Earth would now see the opposite side of the Moon (the Earth sees the "m" of "moon" in the first picture, but it sees the "n" of the word "moon" in the second picture).

What really happens is that the Moon is rotating on its axis; it spins once a month, exactly the same length of time as it takes to orbit the Earth. So, after half an orbit around the Earth, the Moon has also spun one-half of a revolution about its axis. The correct second picture looks like this:

........ E A R T H
noom E A R T H
noom E A R T H
noom E A R T H
........ E A R T H

Now the Moon has rotated 180 degrees, so the Earth still sees the "m" of "moon".

Here's another picture. After one-quarter of an orbit (about one week after the original picture), the Moon has rotated 90 degrees on its axis, and it looks something like this:

.. n. n .n
.. o .o .o
.. o .o .o
.. m m m
E A R T H
E A R T H
E A R T H
E A R T H
E A R T H

Once again, the "m" side of "moon" is facing the Earth, but it took an appropriate amount of rotation of the Moon about its axis to keep the "m" side facing the Earth.

So the Moon rotates about its own axis in the same length of time that it takes to orbit the Earth. That's what keeps the same side of the Moon always facing the Earth."

Why We See Only One Side of the Moon

If you would have read what I posted about this, you would have saved yourself the time it ttok you to type this post out.

If the moon didnt spin on its axis we would see the far side of the moon. NOTHING in the known universe acts like that and you mistaking me for believing that is very poor judgment. Think of the 8 ball being the earth and the 1 ball being the moon. Now hold the 1 ball in your hand and make a circle around the 8 ball not spinning it but moving it around the 8 ball. NO ONE has suggested this is what happens with the moon, and no one here believes thats what happens. I REALIZE that the 1 ball rotates around the 8 ball, with the number 1 always facing earth. THATS WHAT I SAID FROM THE BEGINNING! You do NOT see the number 1 spinning around and around and around at the same time it goes around the 8 ball , in a similar fashion that earth spins on its own axis around the sun. The moon does not spin on its own axis like the earth. (like I have said from the very beginning of this stupid argument.


Delusion- A persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence. (i.e. religion)

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