Moon's Orbit Around The Earth

I am curious why the moon's orbit is the way it is:

http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/WebImg/earmoon.gif

The planets (mostly) orbit the sun in pretty much the same plane and
direction, counter clockwise as seen from (say) Polaris, around the
sun's equator. That would lead one to think that our moon should also
revolve around the earth with an orbit really close to the earth's
equator. Not true, however - according to the picture above, the orbit
is some 12 degrees off the equatorial path. So - why doesn't the tidal
effect (?) of the earth's rotation also force the moon into a similar
orbit? I would think, after X billion years, whatever original motion
it had would be dissipated as it was constantly pulled towards the
bulge of our equator.

And, while we are at it, why does Venus spin on its axis in the
opposite direction? Very confusing!

DS

"Devon Sedlydins" wrote in message...
...

I am curious why the moon's orbit is the way it is:

http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/WebImg/earmoon.gif

The planets (mostly) orbit the sun in pretty much the same plane and
direction, counter clockwise as seen from (say) Polaris, around the
sun's equator. That would lead one to think that our moon should also
revolve around the earth with an orbit really close to the earth's
equator. Not true, however - according to the picture above, the orbit
is some 12 degrees off the equatorial path. So - why doesn't the tidal
effect (?) of the earth's rotation also force the moon into a similar
orbit? I would think, after X billion years, whatever original motion
it had would be dissipated as it was constantly pulled towards the
bulge of our equator.

And, while we are at it, why does Venus spin on its axis in the
opposite direction? Very confusing!

DS

Yes, DS, these are very curious things. If you'll
recheck it, you'll find that the Moon's orbit is, not
12 degrees off Earth's equatorial path, but more
like 28 or 29 degrees off it.

This and the fact that the Moon orbits a mere 5
degrees off the ecliptic (planet Mercury orbits 7
degrees off the ecliptic), as well as several other
factors leads some scientists and others, including
myself and, when he was alive, Isaac Asimov, to
conclude that the Moon is a full-fledged major
planet. I call the Moon planet "Selene", a name
brought down to us from the ancient Greeks.

Selene is Earth's sister planet and both are what
Asimov called a "binary-planet system". Keep in
mind that none of this is "officially" recognized
by the International Astronomical Union (IAU),
the governing body of world astronomy.

As for Venus, i'm not sure. But it may follow that
if Venus is headed for synchronized orbit with the
Sun (like Mercury and like the Moon is with Earth),
then the "last throes" probably include oscillations.
This just means that for a few centuries Venus will
be in retro-rotation, then back to "normal" spin
direction, then back again to retro, each time the
spin range getting smaller and smaller until full
sync occurs (when Venus always shows the same
face toward the Sun).

happy days and...
starry starry nights!

--
Indelibly yours,
Paine

P.S. Thank YOU for reading!

P.P.S. (shh) Some secret sites...
http://painellsworth.net
http://savethechildren.org
http://eBook-eDen.secretsgolden.com

"Painius" wrote in message...
...

. . . As for Venus, i'm not sure. But it may follow that
if Venus is headed for synchronized orbit with the
Sun (like Mercury and like the Moon is with Earth), . . .

oops! i should have checked this before posting my
reply to you, DS...

The Moon is definitely in synchronous orbit with the
Earth and always (except for a little libration) shows
the same face toward Earth.

Mercury however is still in the process of synching
with the Sun. It revolves around the Sun in 88 days,
and if it was truly in sync with the sun would have
a period of rotation of 88 days. (By the way, it was
not so long ago that astronomers believed this was
the case.) But Mercury's rotation period is a little
less than 59 days. So it's not quite in sync with the
Sun.

Then Mercury, too, might be undergoing those same
synchronizing oscillations that Venus appears to be
undergoing. This may mean that in a few hundred
years, perhaps Mercury's rotation will go into retro!

happy days and...
starry starry nights!

--
Indelibly yours,
Paine

P.S. Thank YOU for reading!

P.P.S. (shh) Some secret sites...
http://painellsworth.net
http://savethechildren.org
http://eBook-eDen.secretsgolden.com

On Feb 6, 2:40*pm, "Painius" wrote:
"Devon Sedlydins" wrote in message...

...







I am curious why the moon's orbit is the way it is:

http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/WebImg/earmoon.gif

The planets (mostly) orbit the sun in pretty much the same plane and
direction, counter clockwise as seen from (say) Polaris, around the
sun's equator. That would lead one to think that our moon should also
revolve around the earth with an orbit really close to the earth's
equator. Not true, however - according to the picture above, the orbit
is some 12 degrees off the equatorial path. So - why doesn't the tidal
effect (?) of the earth's rotation also force the moon into a similar
orbit? I would think, after X billion years, whatever original motion
it had would be dissipated as it *was constantly pulled towards the
bulge of our equator.

And, while we are at it, why does Venus spin on its axis in the
opposite direction? Very confusing!

DS

Yes, DS, these are very curious things. *If you'll
recheck it, you'll find that the Moon's orbit is, not
12 degrees off Earth's equatorial path, but more
like 28 or 29 degrees off it.

This and the fact that the Moon orbits a mere 5
degrees off the ecliptic (planet Mercury orbits 7
degrees off the ecliptic), as well as several other
factors leads some scientists and others, including
myself and, when he was alive, Isaac Asimov, to
conclude that the Moon is a full-fledged major
planet. *I call the Moon planet "Selene", a name
brought down to us from the ancient Greeks.

Selene is Earth's sister planet and both are what
Asimov called a "binary-planet system". *Keep in
mind that none of this is "officially" recognized
by the International Astronomical Union (IAU),
the governing body of world astronomy.

As for Venus, i'm not sure. *But it may follow that
if Venus is headed for synchronized orbit with the
Sun (like Mercury and like the Moon is with Earth),
then the "last throes" probably include oscillations.
This just means that for a few centuries Venus will
be in retro-rotation, then back to "normal" spin
direction, then back again to retro, each time the
spin range getting smaller and smaller until full
sync occurs (when Venus always shows the same
face toward the Sun).

happy days and...
* *starry starry nights!

--
Indelibly yours,
Paine

*P.S. Thank YOU for reading!

* * P.P.S. (shh) Some secret sites...
* * * *http://painellsworth.net
* * * * * * *http://savethechildren.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *http://eBook-eDen.secretsgolden.com- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Painius Kind of pushing it calling the moon Earth's sister. Moon and
Mars relate better. Both are dry dusty and have lots ot rocks and
craters.Bert

wrote in message...
...
On Feb 6, 2:40 pm, "Painius" wrote:

. . . Selene is Earth's sister planet and both are what
Asimov called a "binary-planet system". . . .

Painius Kind of pushing it calling the moon Earth's sister. Moon and
Mars relate better. Both are dry dusty and have lots ot rocks and
craters.Bert

Bert, for me the requirement for being sisters is
not necessarily how much alike they are, but if
they are sprung from the same parental orbit .

And i think the evidence is very strong that both
Earth and Selene originated right smack in this
orbit, the same orbit around the Sun that they've
been in for about 4.5 billion years.

Haven't you ever met two girls who were sisters
who were about as different from each other as
they could possibly be?

Before we were married, i was very close with
my wife's sister, who in fact introduced us. And
sometimes i find it hard to believe that their
parents didn't live on different planets!

happy days and...
starry starry nights!

--
Indelibly yours,
Paine

P.S. Thank YOU for reading!

P.P.S. (shh) Some secret sites...
http://painellsworth.net
http://savethechildren.org
http://eBook-eDen.secretsgolden.com