[AF] A very interesting fact behind the Apollo Mission to the Moon

[Gary Peterson]

I recall reading that many of the moons in our solar system have rotation
and revolution periods that are synchronized.  That's why we only see one
side of ours. For our moon, both periods are somewhere around 28 days,
rather than one day, aren't they?

The reason cited for this anomalous behavior is tidal friction.  Our moon is
much smaller than the Earth.  It is believed that, originally, our moon
rotated much faster than now.  Due to Earth's gravity, the side of the moon,
facing the Earth, bulged toward the Earth (likewise, the Earth's dirt and
oceans bulge toward the moon).  This lump of lunar soil had to continuously
move as the moon rotated on its axis.  Eventually, the tidal friction from
the Earth's gravity slowed the moon's rotation, until it fell into
lock-step.  Presto!  No more tidal friction.

Gary, KØCX


" the moon is pretty strange--anomalous, even...._e. g._, how did it just
happen that the moon has
both a revolution period and a rotation period of one day?... 
M "