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Secondary 1 • May 9, 2024

I had some questions in my science class today that i thought I would ask. These are mostly out of curiosity :)
1) What would happen if the moon started spinning on itself and not just in orbit around Earth? Or does is already? If it does what would happen if it stopped?
2) What would happen if the moon stopped orbiting Earth?
3) What would happen if the Earth stopped spinning?

Once again these are all just out of curiosity and don't need to be answered urgently. Thank you! :)

Answer (1)

Alloprof Answer

May 9, 2024

Hi there!
Thanks for checking in :)
Those are great questions!
1)The moon already spins on itself! It also revolves around the earth. It would change the appearance of the moon (because we would see different parts of it). It would also change the tidal forces, because the gravitational interactions would change! There would also be geographical changes.
2) If the moon stopped spinning around the earth, it would have some of the same effects as your first question. Another interesting fact would be that the Earth's axis would be less stable, because the moon plays a part in it!
3) If the earth stopped spinning, there would be changes in the surface temperature (because some places on earth wouldn't have sun). Another interesting fact is that the magnetic field of the eart would collapse on itself!
Thanks for your questions, they were really interesting!
Have a good one :)
Ariane