Moon's center of mass

Hi,
What is the process which caused the Moon's 2 Km
center-of-mass/center-of-figure offset?
Thanks,
Vvega

Earth.


--
"In this universe the night was falling,the shadows were lengthening
towards an east that would not know another dawn.
But elsewhere the stars were still young and the light of morning
lingered: and along the path he once had followed, man would one day go
again."

Arthur C. Clarke, The City & The Stars

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"vvega" wrote in message
.. .
Hi,
What is the process which caused the Moon's 2 Km
center-of-mass/center-of-figure offset?
Thanks,
Vvega

It is the Earth's Tidal Forces.

"Starlord" wrote in message
...
Earth.



SIAR
www.starlords.org
Bishop's Car Fund
http://www.bishopcarfund.Netfirms.com/
Freelance Writers Shop
http://www.freelancewrittersshop.netfirms.com
Telescope Buyers FAQ
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"vvega" wrote in message
.. .
Hi,
What is the process which caused the Moon's 2 Km
center-of-mass/center-of-figure offset?
Thanks,
Vvega

"Red Dragon" wrote in message
...

It is the Earth's Tidal Forces.

The tidal bulges raised on the Moon by the Earth are symmetric (or at lease
VERY nearly so) and are not responsible for the offset.

The Moon actually has a permanent bulge on its far side (separate and apart
from the tidal bulges) that accounts for the offset.

Consider a perfectly spherical Moon of uniform density. For this Moon the
Centre of Mass (CoM) and the Geometric Centre (GC) will coincide. Now lets
tack on a bulge on the far side. the change in the GC of the Moon will be in
proportion to the height of the bulge, the change in the CoM of the Moon
will be in proportion to Mass(bulge)/Mass(Original Moon). It is the
difference in these two values that accounts for the 2km offset between the
CoM and the GC.

--
Cheers
John Zinni