Orbital mechanics question

Lets say for the sake of argument, um suppose a 2 mile long warhead
were to explode on the far side of the moon at about Fermi crater,
with a force equivalent to make Aitken Basin, what date would that
have to happen, in order for it to spiral towards the earth and arrive
here on Jan. 1 2012?

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ps.com...
Lets say for the sake of argument, um suppose a 2 mile long warhead
were to explode on the far side of the moon at about Fermi crater,
with a force equivalent to make Aitken Basin, what date would that
have to happen, in order for it to spiral towards the earth and arrive
here on Jan. 1 2012?


It wouldn't get here, ever. The force being applied radially, the Moon
would retain its angular momentum, and remain in orbit. The eccentricity of
the orbit would be altered, but the amount of change would depend on exactly
where in the orbit this event took place. And the fact that the moon is in
orbit shows that even the Aitken Basin event was not enough to alter the
orbital elements a great deal.

And the application of an impulse like this would never cause the moon to
"spiral in" either. Perhaps you've been watching too many science fiction
films with absurd science.

--
Mike Dworetsky

(Remove pants sp*mbl*ck to reply)

On Oct 16, 12:09 am, wrote:
Lets say for the sake of argument, um suppose a 2 mile long warhead
were to explode on the far side of the moon at about Fermi crater,
with a force equivalent to make Aitken Basin, what date would that
have to happen, in order for it to spiral towards the earth and arrive
here on Jan. 1 2012?

Let me guess. You've been watching old Space 1999 reruns.