Can someone explain this to me because it seems hard to swallow?

[DubiousIntentions]

Someone said that all the planets in our solar system can fit in between the Earth and the Moon. I want to know how the moon can stay in orbit or cause tides on Earth from that great a distance. If Earth's gravitational pull can keep the Moon in orbit it should also pull in every stray asteroid or meteor or the satellites in a much closer orbit. I also read in the news that the moon is actually moving away from the Earth, according to instruments left on the moon to measure its distance from Earth, which is growing further away.

Relative size of Earth to Jupiter

[WindAtMyBack]

First of all, if the planets fit between the Earth and the Moon, it's just barely. I just added it up using rough numbers and it would be a very tight squeeze. But anyway, it's close enough.

I think the main reason the moon stays in orbit and causes tides is because there aren't enough other forces acting on them.

I don't remember the equation used to calculate orbits because it's been almost 50 years since I've done it. But I do remember it's not a complicated equation. The math does work for the moon to orbit the Earth. The moon has a large mass, which means it needs to be a long distance from Earth to stay in orbit.

The man-made satellites have like a billionth of a billionth of the mass of the moon, so they stay in orbit at a much closer distance from the Earth. They also have a shorter period (the time it takes to make one orbit). Staying in orbit is a combination of mass, distance, and velocity. Since the moon has a huge mass compared to man-made satellites, it needs to be very far from Earth to stay in orbit.

With tides, there is not much else acting on the oceans other than the earth itself. Water is fluid. It flows easily. If water is just sitting there perfectly still, it will not take much to get it moving. The mass of the moon has enough gravitational pull to affect the oceans. From a human perspective, it might seem like the tides are very large. But compared to the size of the earth, they hardly move.

It might appear that the ocean water is pulled toward the shore or away from the shore. But that's not what happens. The moon "pulls" the water straight toward it. In other words it pulls the water directly away from the Earth, not toward the shore or away from the shore.

The Earth DOES attract other things in space. That's what comets are. If you live in the right places you can see several each night. Where I first went to college was like that. If I was paying attention I'd see comets every night, sometimes very large and bright comets. Most of this stuff in space is very small, like comets. There are trillions of little particles in space. Most are so small that it takes very little gravity to pull them toward the earth.

The larger things like asteroids are far more rare than the little space dust that creates comets. Space is almost entirely empty. The chances of something coming close enough to Earth to fall to Earth are extremely slim. It does happen sometimes, but very rarely.

[KrakenAttackin]

The moon is actually slowly pulling away from the Earth.

[DubiousIntentions]

The other planets, like Jupiter have their moons much closer than we do on Earth. Now you would think the opposite, that with Jupiter's mass it would pull their moons out of orbit. Jupiter's gravity yanks things, like asteroids or comets, away from Earth and takes a lot of poundings for the team.

[WindAtMyBack]

I think only some of the small moons with significantly less mass are closer than our moon. Most are much further than our moon. The ones close to Jupiter also have a far higher velocity than our moon.

The math works. The math is simple enough that if it didn't work there would be tens of millions of people screaming about it.

[OlderAndWiser]

The sum of the diameter of all other planets is 236,840 miles. The average distance from the earth to the moon is 238,855 miles. So, yes, they would fit SOME of the time. When the Moon is the farthest away, it’s 252,088 miles away. But when it's closest, the Moon is only 225,623 miles away, and the other 7 planets would not fit.

"it should also pull in every stray asteroid or meteor or the satellites in a much closer orbit." There are no asteroids in orbit around the earth, and no asteroids closer than the moon. There are meteors which are pulled in by earth's gravity; it actually happens with great regularity. When they enter our atmosphere, they usually burn up and are called "shooting stars."

[DubiousIntentions]

There have been asteroids that have passed between the Earth and the Moon and we didn't even know it until it passed by. The moon is only as big as the United States, plus or minus.

[OlderAndWiser]

I misread and thought you were asking about asteroids in orbit around the earth.

[DubiousIntentions]

Jupiter and Saturn are the biggest planets. One is like 80, 000 miles in diameter, and Earth could fit into Jupiter's red spot. To me is still sounds strange, no matter what the facts are.

[Daniela1982]

I don't get it either. The moon is only 4,000 miles in diameter yet it is able to cause tides with it's gravity? I think some scientists must have been on crack when that was thought up.

[Kaneki05]

I ain't a guy who knows all the maths but I am sure there is maths on the internet of how it all works out.
But in simple terms it's just how it is our gravitational force is quite strong to keep it in our orbit and the reason to why the moon is moving around is cause we spin and that much force is slowly pushing it away or fast depending on perspective.

Have you ever seen a blown up ball on the sea? and how it don't drift out quite right away think of that as the moon it's sat with in our shore space of the ocean but eventually those waves will send it out further into the open ocean.

[AviatorTom]

If you add up the diameters of all the planets, you'll find that number is less than the earth-moon distance.

Orbital mechanics show that the earth and moon are in a relatively stable orbit pattern, and I have heard that the moon's orbit is slowly increasing, due in part to other objects in the solar system pulling on it due to their gravity.

The earth doesn't pull comets and asteroids in because if the combined effects of all the objects in the solar system, whose combined gravity pulls on all objects creates a fairly stable system of planets, moons, asteroids etc. In the grand scheme if things, earth's gravity plays a small role in the solar system, except for the Moon, which is close to earth.

[FunkyMonkee]

Whoever said that is either bullshitting you or on some serious drugs!!
The moon DOES effect the oceans and attract a lot of space junk that would've normally hit us. And, it IS moving away from us at a rate of about 1 or 2 inches a year so, we'll probably lose it in about 10,000 years.

[Smoothing]

It is hard to swallow because it is untrue. You are clever enough for your gut feeling to male you disturbed by the statement.

[Dinosaursandanime65]

Me ignoring all of the background information and only reading the title:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/6VC3juvn8XI

[DubiousIntentions]

So in other words, the answer is no. Well at least we agree on one thing then.

[Dinosaursandanime65]

It was a joke but sure…

[Andres77]

I don't trust today's scientists because science has become politicized.

[Anonymous]

If you been following any type of astronomy news you'll see a lot of asteroids meteors and comets do come close to earth and pass by it. You just won't hear about it on any shit mainstream media

[KrakenAttackin]

Between "the Eartha and the moon"... good grief. You have to be a product of American public schools.

[Daniela1982]

I read that too in the news. I can't remember when it happened but I do recall hearing it. I can remember me thinking that we are supposed to be tracking stuff near the Earth yet it sneaked in with no one noticing. Maybe they were having an orgy at the observatory that night.

[pizzalovershouse]

Its do to space with inplanets inour solar system

[hafinjun]

I'd like to here that one too