• Question: How does the moon orbits the earth?

    Asked by to Amar, Matt on 21 Mar 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Matthew Lam

      Matthew Lam answered on 21 Mar 2014:

      Simply put – The moons orbit is created by the forward motion of the moon (everything is moving through space as a result of the big bang) combined with the force of gravity from the Earth.

      The moon wants to move in a single direction through space but has become ‘trapped’ in the gravitational pull of the Earth. As the moon tries to move forward it is pulled in towards the Earth…because the distance is just right the moon stays in an orbit around the Earth and can’t move closer or further away.

    • Photo: Amar Joshi

      Amar Joshi answered on 21 Mar 2014:

      Matt’s answer pretty much covers it all. The moon is locked in a orbit and it only rotates once per orbit too – it is tidally locked.

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