another moon question

Holly wrote:

So heres my
question if i was up there sitting on the moon would i only ever just see 1
side of the earth too ? If so why,and if not why ?

Hi Holly,

If you were sitting on the moon, you *would* see the different sides of
the earth, because the Earth rotates every 24 hours, and the moon orbits
the earth every 28 days = the earth is spinning faster than the moon is
traveling. But, since the moon rotates in 28 days AND it orbits the
earth in 28 days, the earth would stay in the same position in the sky.

A bit like being on the edge of a merry-go-round and watching someone at
the center spinning a basketball: the basketball doesn't move position,
but it does show different sides.

Hope this is a bit clearer than some of the other answers,

Kent

In message , Kent
writes
Holly wrote:

So heres my
question if i was up there sitting on the moon would i only ever just see 1
side of the earth too ? If so why,and if not why ?

Hi Holly,

If you were sitting on the moon, you *would* see the different sides of
the earth, because the Earth rotates every 24 hours, and the moon orbits
the earth every 28 days = the earth is spinning faster than the moon is
traveling. But, since the moon rotates in 28 days AND it orbits the
earth in 28 days, the earth would stay in the same position in the sky.

A bit like being on the edge of a merry-go-round and watching someone at
the center spinning a basketball: the basketball doesn't move position,
but it does show different sides.

Hope this is a bit clearer than some of the other answers,

If you read Robert Heinlein's stories set on the Moon, his characters
see what time it is by looking at the Earth - if the Moon is new (middle
of the night for the near side, but their night lasts about 14 days) and
England is on the meridian, it's about noon GMT. I'm not sure this would
work in practice, though!
--
"Forty millions of miles it was from us, more than forty millions of miles of
void"
Remove spam and invalid from address to reply.

In message , Kent
writes
Holly wrote:

So heres my
question if i was up there sitting on the moon would i only ever just see 1
side of the earth too ? If so why,and if not why ?

Hi Holly,

If you were sitting on the moon, you *would* see the different sides of
the earth, because the Earth rotates every 24 hours, and the moon orbits
the earth every 28 days = the earth is spinning faster than the moon is
traveling. But, since the moon rotates in 28 days AND it orbits the
earth in 28 days, the earth would stay in the same position in the sky.

A bit like being on the edge of a merry-go-round and watching someone at
the center spinning a basketball: the basketball doesn't move position,
but it does show different sides.

Hope this is a bit clearer than some of the other answers,

If you read Robert Heinlein's stories set on the Moon, his characters
see what time it is by looking at the Earth - if the Moon is new (middle
of the night for the near side, but their night lasts about 14 days) and
England is on the meridian, it's about noon GMT. I'm not sure this would
work in practice, though!
--
"Forty millions of miles it was from us, more than forty millions of miles of
void"
Remove spam and invalid from address to reply.

Jonathan Silverlight wrote:

If you read Robert Heinlein's stories set on the Moon, his characters
see what time it is by looking at the Earth - if the Moon is new (middle
of the night for the near side, but their night lasts about 14 days) and
England is on the meridian, it's about noon GMT. I'm not sure this would
work in practice, though!

Can't see why it *wouldn't* work in practice. Just as we can tell time
by the position of the sun/moon in our sky, surely a "Luney" - as R.E.H.
might put it - could tell the time by which features are where on the
earth's surface. You'd still need to adjust as the moon travels 'round,
but shouldn't be much different than taking into account the moon's
phases here on earth.

All in all, I think clocks will still be simplest. Another question is,
how will a luney measure time? By terran standards - 24 hours? Lunar -
28 days? Something other?

--
·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
Kent
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸ ..,
·.·

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Jonathan Silverlight wrote:

If you read Robert Heinlein's stories set on the Moon, his characters
see what time it is by looking at the Earth - if the Moon is new (middle
of the night for the near side, but their night lasts about 14 days) and
England is on the meridian, it's about noon GMT. I'm not sure this would
work in practice, though!

Can't see why it *wouldn't* work in practice. Just as we can tell time
by the position of the sun/moon in our sky, surely a "Luney" - as R.E.H.
might put it - could tell the time by which features are where on the
earth's surface. You'd still need to adjust as the moon travels 'round,
but shouldn't be much different than taking into account the moon's
phases here on earth.

All in all, I think clocks will still be simplest. Another question is,
how will a luney measure time? By terran standards - 24 hours? Lunar -
28 days? Something other?

--
·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
Kent
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸ ..,
·.·

Remove "RemoveThisToReply" from address to reply

Well i read all these letters from odysseus and benoit and onegod and kent
and jpnathon and kent and thanx for trying to explain this to me but i
still cant figure it out i mean if the moon is spinning and we are spinning
we should be able to see the other side. So is the other side turned to
earth when its daylight out then and thats why we cant see it ?
but that cant be it because then the peeps on the other side of the earth
would be able to see the other sid eof the moon.
Are you sure the moon is spinning ?

On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 19:49:19 GMT, Holly wrote:

Ok I got another moon question and i know its dumb but ok so i know
that we only ever see 1 side of the moon the same side all the time ,,
this sint my question but i dont understnd that becuase we are
spinning and the moon is spinning right ? Of course im right all
planets and moons spin so it doesnt make sense that we only see one
side unless...no nevermind. So heres my question if i was up there
sitting on the moon would i only ever just see 1 side of the earth too
? If so why,and if not why ?

Holly (

Hello Holly, no questions are dumb and sometimes the answers are
simpler than we think.

Let's start with Earth: Our planet rotate around its axis ( around
itself! ) in 24 hours; this is the length of OUR day. Earth also
revolve around the Sun in 365 1/4 days and this is the duration of OUR
year.

The Moon revolve around Earth in 28 days, this is the Moon's year. By
the way, if you look at he Earth-Moon system from above the north
pole, you will see that the Moon revolve around Earth in a
counter-clockwise direction. Now suppose that you lie on the ground
on a beautifull summer midnight, you look at the Moon and suddenly,
absolutely everythings in the Universe stop moving BUT the Moon. What
will you see? You will first see a first-quarter Moonrise on the
western horizon, it will slowly grow full-moon up in the middle of
your sky in seven days and then it will slowly sink below your eastern
horizon, in its last quarter state, another seven days later.

That way we can understand the cause of the Moon's phases: in the
above situation, the Sun is located directly behind our back. When we
observe the Moonrise, we are really looking at our right to the left
side of the Moon so the front-side is illuminated by the Sun and the
back side is not. When we look at the Moonset, ( 14 days later ) we
see to our left its right side; the front side is still in Sunlight
and the back side is still dark.

You notice that i have not spoke a word yet about the Moon's DAY.
Does the Moon rotate around itself just like Earth? Yes it does but
the length of a Moon-day is not 24 hours. Because of gravitationnal
effects between Earth and Moon, the length of a Moon-day is... 28
Earth-day! For a Selenite, the day is the same length of a year!

Now, let's do another though-experiment: again we stand on the ground
and we look at the full Moon at the zenith. Now, everything is
motionless in the Universe BUT the rotation of the Moon around itself.
What do we see? The Moon stand still there, suspended in heaven in a
velvet black jewell box of stars. It does'nt move either right or left
but slowly, very slowly you notice a change on the surface of the
Moon: it is turning around itself. After a few days, we begin to see
on the left side of the Moon new terrain, a terrain only the few
Apollo astronauts could see with their own eyes: the other side of the
Moon! 14 days after the beginning of that experiment, the Moon is
still up there but it is unrecongnizable because we see only the far
side of it. Another 14 days and the near side comes back into view.

Now, nothing is really motionless in the Universe, the Moon does
revolve around Earth and do rotate around itself at the same time. It
is because the duration and direction of both movements are the same
that the Moon always shows us the same side.

Now for the big question: how do we see Earth if we stand on the Moon,
like the Apollo crews? What we see is just like our "motionless
experiment" number 2: Earth stand still up in the sky, not moving
neither right nor left but we can see its rotation about itself. We
will see first say, America, then the Pacific ocean, then Australia,
Asia, Africa and Europe, the Atlantic ocean then America again. And
all of this takes exactly 24 hours!

I hope all of this answered your questions and if you need anything
else, please do not hesitate: the only dumbs questions are those we do
not dare to ask!


Good night!

Benoît Morrissette

Well i read all these letters from odysseus and benoit and onegod and kent
and jpnathon and kent and thanx for trying to explain this to me but i
still cant figure it out i mean if the moon is spinning and we are spinning
we should be able to see the other side. So is the other side turned to
earth when its daylight out then and thats why we cant see it ?
but that cant be it because then the peeps on the other side of the earth
would be able to see the other sid eof the moon.
Are you sure the moon is spinning ?

On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 19:49:19 GMT, Holly wrote:

Ok I got another moon question and i know its dumb but ok so i know
that we only ever see 1 side of the moon the same side all the time ,,
this sint my question but i dont understnd that becuase we are
spinning and the moon is spinning right ? Of course im right all
planets and moons spin so it doesnt make sense that we only see one
side unless...no nevermind. So heres my question if i was up there
sitting on the moon would i only ever just see 1 side of the earth too
? If so why,and if not why ?

Holly (

Hello Holly, no questions are dumb and sometimes the answers are
simpler than we think.

Let's start with Earth: Our planet rotate around its axis ( around
itself! ) in 24 hours; this is the length of OUR day. Earth also
revolve around the Sun in 365 1/4 days and this is the duration of OUR
year.

The Moon revolve around Earth in 28 days, this is the Moon's year. By
the way, if you look at he Earth-Moon system from above the north
pole, you will see that the Moon revolve around Earth in a
counter-clockwise direction. Now suppose that you lie on the ground
on a beautifull summer midnight, you look at the Moon and suddenly,
absolutely everythings in the Universe stop moving BUT the Moon. What
will you see? You will first see a first-quarter Moonrise on the
western horizon, it will slowly grow full-moon up in the middle of
your sky in seven days and then it will slowly sink below your eastern
horizon, in its last quarter state, another seven days later.

That way we can understand the cause of the Moon's phases: in the
above situation, the Sun is located directly behind our back. When we
observe the Moonrise, we are really looking at our right to the left
side of the Moon so the front-side is illuminated by the Sun and the
back side is not. When we look at the Moonset, ( 14 days later ) we
see to our left its right side; the front side is still in Sunlight
and the back side is still dark.

You notice that i have not spoke a word yet about the Moon's DAY.
Does the Moon rotate around itself just like Earth? Yes it does but
the length of a Moon-day is not 24 hours. Because of gravitationnal
effects between Earth and Moon, the length of a Moon-day is... 28
Earth-day! For a Selenite, the day is the same length of a year!

Now, let's do another though-experiment: again we stand on the ground
and we look at the full Moon at the zenith. Now, everything is
motionless in the Universe BUT the rotation of the Moon around itself.
What do we see? The Moon stand still there, suspended in heaven in a
velvet black jewell box of stars. It does'nt move either right or left
but slowly, very slowly you notice a change on the surface of the
Moon: it is turning around itself. After a few days, we begin to see
on the left side of the Moon new terrain, a terrain only the few
Apollo astronauts could see with their own eyes: the other side of the
Moon! 14 days after the beginning of that experiment, the Moon is
still up there but it is unrecongnizable because we see only the far
side of it. Another 14 days and the near side comes back into view.

Now, nothing is really motionless in the Universe, the Moon does
revolve around Earth and do rotate around itself at the same time. It
is because the duration and direction of both movements are the same
that the Moon always shows us the same side.

Now for the big question: how do we see Earth if we stand on the Moon,
like the Apollo crews? What we see is just like our "motionless
experiment" number 2: Earth stand still up in the sky, not moving
neither right nor left but we can see its rotation about itself. We
will see first say, America, then the Pacific ocean, then Australia,
Asia, Africa and Europe, the Atlantic ocean then America again. And
all of this takes exactly 24 hours!

I hope all of this answered your questions and if you need anything
else, please do not hesitate: the only dumbs questions are those we do
not dare to ask!


Good night!

Benoît Morrissette

Holly wrote in message . ..
Well i read all these letters from odysseus and benoit and onegod and kent
and jpnathon and kent and thanx for trying to explain this to me but i
still cant figure it out i mean if the moon is spinning and we are spinning
we should be able to see the other side. So is the other side turned to
earth when its daylight out then and thats why we cant see it ?
but that cant be it because then the peeps on the other side of the earth
would be able to see the other sid eof the moon.
Are you sure the moon is spinning ?

Try it this way, Holly.

Get a friend. The two of you go stand somewhere, about ten feet apart
from each other.

You pretend to be the earth. You stand in one place and spin around
and around. (Do this just for a minute -- don't get too dizzy!)

Your friend pretends to be the moon. She should walk around you in a
circle, like the moon going around the earth -- but have her walk
sideways, so as she walks around you she keeps her face toward you the
whole time.

Your friend is turning, but walking in a circle at the same rate as
she's turning, so she always shows you her front, never her back.
Someone else watching the two of you would say your friend is turning
around as she walks around you, but you never see her back.

That's what the earth and moon do. Hope this helps.

eyelessgame

Holly wrote in message . ..
Well i read all these letters from odysseus and benoit and onegod and kent
and jpnathon and kent and thanx for trying to explain this to me but i
still cant figure it out i mean if the moon is spinning and we are spinning
we should be able to see the other side. So is the other side turned to
earth when its daylight out then and thats why we cant see it ?
but that cant be it because then the peeps on the other side of the earth
would be able to see the other sid eof the moon.
Are you sure the moon is spinning ?

Try it this way, Holly.

Get a friend. The two of you go stand somewhere, about ten feet apart
from each other.

You pretend to be the earth. You stand in one place and spin around
and around. (Do this just for a minute -- don't get too dizzy!)

Your friend pretends to be the moon. She should walk around you in a
circle, like the moon going around the earth -- but have her walk
sideways, so as she walks around you she keeps her face toward you the
whole time.

Your friend is turning, but walking in a circle at the same rate as
she's turning, so she always shows you her front, never her back.
Someone else watching the two of you would say your friend is turning
around as she walks around you, but you never see her back.

That's what the earth and moon do. Hope this helps.

eyelessgame

Holly wrote:

if the moon is spinning and we are spinning
we should be able to see the other side.

Just the opposite, Holly If the moon was *not* spinning, then we
would see the other side. Because it spins at the same rate it orbits
us, we only see one side. However, let's look at the two theories
scientifically and see which one is right.

Here's a simple experiment you can do *right now* that will tell us for
su

Experiment #1:
Get a small piece of paper and draw an X on one side. This will be the
moon.

Make your left hand into a fist and hold it in front of you. That will
be the earth.

Hold the paper in your right hand. Now "orbit" your paper-moon around
your earth-fist. Keep the X on the paper facing your computer monitor,
so the moon doesn't spin as it orbits your fist.

When you get closest to your monitor, see how the X is now facing away
from your earth-fist? That means you're now looking at the back of the
moon. But we never see the back of the moon, we only see its face. So
this isn't the answer.

Experiment #2:
Orbit the paper around your fist again, but this time keep the X on the
paper *always* facing your fist, just like the moon always shows us only
one side.

See how you have to turn the paper-moon in your fingers to do this? And
how you turn it completely around only once for one "orbit"? That's how
the moon works, too: 1 complete spin for 1 complete orbit. This is the
answer!

Are you sure the moon is spinning ?

After you try this, you will be sure.

--
·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
Kent
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸ ..,
·.·

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