What would happen if the moon was twice the distance from Earth?

If the Moon were twice the distance, then the gravity of the Earth would be insufficient (it decreases with the square of the distance) to hold the Moon in orbit, and the Moon would go whizzing off into space.

How would the gravitational force between the Earth and moon change if the moon was twice as far away?

The tidal force is the difference of the moon’s gravity on the near and far sides of the earth. It falls off as 1r3, so the if the moon were twice as far away the lunar tides would be (about) 18 as tall. The solar tides would become the dominant ones, so the total height would not decrease nearly that much.

What would happen to the tides of the moon was twice as massive as it is currently?

The moon’s gravity, combined with the waltz of Earth and the moon around their center of mass, forces the oceans into an oval shape, with two simultaneous high tides. If the moon were half its mass, then the ocean tides would have been correspondingly smaller and imparted less energy to it.

What would happen if the moon were twice as fast?

The moon would sail off into space (slowing down as it is dragged back by the Earth, and end up orbiting the sun). The escape velocity is √2 times the orbital velocity, so if you are in orbit, and double the speed, you are sure to escape. If you gave it a more gentle push it would enter an elliptical orbit.

What would happen if the Moon were closer to Earth?

Now, moving the Moon closer to the Earth will increase the gravitational exertion of the satellite onto our planet. If the satellite were slightly closer, the tidal bulge would grow. Low tides would be lower and high tides would be higher and any low lying coastline would be flooded.

What would happen if the distance between the Earth and the Moon decreased?

Assuming that the Moon’s orbit is fixed, when the Earth’s diameter becomes larger, the distance between the Moon and Earth would decrease, increasing the gravitational force between them, hence, Earth’s tides would also be influenced (higher and lower tides may occur).

What would happen to the tides on Earth if the moon were closer and why?

What would happen if the Moon’s revolution around Earth took twice as long?

At double the speed, in order for the orbit to remain stable, the Moon would need to be closer to the Earth. About 150.000 km should do it. At that distance, the Moon would cause a greater impact on Earth weather and change of the ocean tides. Hurricanes would become stronger and more frequent.

What would happen to the Moon if it was twice its distance?

The Moon, in it’s current location, is held in orbit by the Earth’s gravity. (Actually, there’s an interchange between the two bodies.). If the Moon were twice the distance, then the gravity of the Earth would be insufficient (it decreases with the square of the distance) to hold the Moon in orbit, and the Moon would go whizzing off into space.

How does the mass of the moon affect its orbit?

The Moon orbits the Earth without falling into the Earth (thus succumbing to Newton’s universal law of gravity) by counteracting this gravitational force with an equal an opposite centripetal force: So, as you can see, the mass of the Moon (m) does not come into play. The orbit would not change.

Is the Moon getting farther away from Earth?

The is actually slowly getting farther away. Every year, the moon moves about 1.6 inches further away from the moon due to gravitational tidal forces. So eventually,in millions of years from now, the moon WILL be twice it’s current distance.

Why doesn’t the moon cover the Sun in a solar eclipse?

Currently the relative sizes and distances of the Moon and the Sun means that total solar eclipses can happen. If the Moon was twice as far away, it wouldn’t completely cover the Sun so no total solar eclipses.