Why does not “gravitational nudge” result in the earth pulling in the moon for a collision?
Answer Hello again, First, the difference is that the mass of the typical asteroid in the asteroid belt is far less than the planet Jupiter which (gravitationally) dominates the asteroids. By contrast, the Moon is barely 1/80 the mass of the Earth, so there is far less scope for the Moon to be “nudged” by Earth than asteroids to be “nudged” by Jupiter. There are also other complexities that factor in. For example, the Earth rotates faster than the Moon moves in its orbit. Because the tides are linked to the more slowly moving Moon, they act by friction as a *brake on Earth’s rotation*, gradually slowing it down. (It is estimated by 0.0007 seconds per century). The angular momentum *lost by the rotating Earth* in this process is transferred to the Moon’s angular momentum. Thus, the Moon is accelerated in its orbit, causing it to slowly spiral outwards…AWAY FROM the Earth. The day and month are thus lengthening at different rates. Calculations have actually been retro-worked to show ho
