"Why doesn't the moon fall down?" (Ask an Astronomer)

[bandet888]

Actualy I've heard that the moon is moving further away ever so slightly. We won't notice in our life time though.

[knowpassword]

Shes smokin

[EllaFireHaHa]

I kinda think of it like putting water into a bucket and spinning it around.

[seeqer66]

Fantastic explanation of Newtonian gravity. PAM2167? There can be multiple "right" answers.

[PAM2167]

Ms Daou you really should get your facts straight! The earth warps and distorts the space around it so the moon is just riding that warping of that fabric of space

[PAM2167]

Ms Daou I have to correct you there about gravity. The ball is not being pulled to the center of the earth. It's being pushed down by the spacial distortion of the earth.

[PAM2167]

Puerto rican people should not teach astronamy!

[Ash6555555]

@PAM2167 RACISIM FTF (For The Fail)!

[TheGreenMonkeyMHFC]

They say that moon is getting away slowly from the earth orbit... about 3sm for a year...

[wolf1isgood]

Thanks! always wondered abotu that :o

[andyb9275]

what a great explanation. but i'm still wondering if the moon has a core or not, beacause i've heared that it is possible that the moon was once a part of earth but was pulled away. could you please answer befre the 20th of june, i need a science project about the moon in by then.

[SpitzerScienceCenter]

The NASA Lunar Science Institute has a section on their website called "Ask an Lunar Scientist." You may want to try them. They're the experts on the current thinking of lunar structure and evolution.

[Dogson82]

The art of falling but keep missing the ground, as Douglas Adams could tell you :)

[monvergel]

What a wonderful explanation, More power to you :)