Brain Teasers
Light of the Silvery Earth
From the Earth we can see the moon rise and set. When the day comes that we can live on the moon, will we see the Earth rise and set?
Answer
No. The moon's rotation is synchronized with its orbit around the Earth, which is why we can only see one side of the moon from Earth. From an observer on the moon, the Earth would appear to be in the same place at all times.Hide Answer Show Answer
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Comments
Simple.
Does anybody know why the moon's rotation is synchronized with its orbit? Is it because the moon is lopsided and the heavier side is always pulled toward the earth by gravity?
easty peasty leton squesty
Oct 03, 2002
I'm not uneducated, and am a fan of space stuff, but this one got me. I kept thinking of the famous photograph of the "Earthrise" shot from the Moon. I now understand it was mislabelled. I feel sooooo humbled!
If you were on the dark side of the moon, you would never see the earth. You would also be very cold.
If you were on the dark side of the moon, you would get your light/heat when that time of the Full Moon Cycle came around, just like all the other moon residents.
Quite easy.
The moon has a synchronized orbit because of the drag caused by tides caused by the gravity of the Earth. After a few billion years, the Earth would be face-locked too.
The "Can you see an Earthrise?" question really depends one somethings. by "living on the moon", we could also be in an orbiting space station, in which we can see a moonrise.
Good one though!
The "Can you see an Earthrise?" question really depends one somethings. by "living on the moon", we could also be in an orbiting space station, in which we can see a moonrise.
Good one though!
Mar 18, 2009
There is a very slight wobble as the moon goes around the Earth. So there is a kind of earthrise and earthset-- but it isn't much and takes a month if you are in the right place.
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