The further the moon moves away from the earth the more constant its recession seems to become. In Figures 1 and 2 this is represented by line “B.” If not for the gravity of the earth and moon, the moon would simply float away from the earth into space.Ī major point to remember about lunar recession is that it is not constant over long periods of time. Gravity is the force that keeps our moon in orbit around the earth. So, it is incorrect to assume that the rate has always been 4 cm/year.įigure 2. The recession of the moon is not constant over time. Hopefully this short article will help toĬlarify the details of lunar recession and why it supports a young age for our solar system. We have had many people contact us concerning the recession rate of the moon. There has to be a minimum distance the moon would have to start away from Earth for this to not happen right? So how far is that distance and is that the factor I’m missing?
I would think that the speed at which the moon moves away from the Earth would be lower at lower distances due to planetary gravity? Is the author using logic somewhere to change the math that I am unaware of? At a closer distance from earth at a certain point the two would accelerate towards each other and collide I’m sure. However I get 9.6 billion years at the 1.5 inches a year pace and am not so sure that the moon moving away from the Earth would be constant. It also mentioned the moon as being 400,000km away and that 1.5 billion years ago the earth and moon would be touching at that pace.
It said that would be 250 meters in 6,000 years which I can get on my computer’s calculator program. Article mentioned the moon moving away from the earth at approximately 1.5 inches a year.