Since the moon is gravitationally attracted to the earth, why does it not simply crash on earth?
Since the moon is gravitationally attracted to the earth, why does it not simply crash on earth?
4 views
1 Answers
The moon is orbiting around the earth in a certain orbit with a certain period . The centripetal force required for the orbital motion is provided to the gravitational pull of earth. The moon can crash into the earth if its tangential velocity is reduced to zero. AS moon has tangential velocity while orbiting around earth, it simply falls around the earth rather than into it and hence cannot crash into the earth.
4 views
Answered