Possible New Evidence bearing on the Lunar Capture Hypothesis

Physics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

2

Scientific paper

INTEREST in the dynamical history of the Earth-Moon system was stimulated by the calculations of Gerstenkorn1, who deduced that the Moon was originally an independent planet in a solar orbit close to that of the Earth and that it was captured into a highly elliptical retrograde terrestrial orbit of small perigee. The orbit was brought closer and its ellipticity was reduced by tidal interaction until a dramatically close encounter with the Earth flipped the Moon over into a prograde orbit, from which it has receded to its present position under the influence of tidal friction. Gerstenkorn's theory has been favourably reviewed by Alfvén2,3 and very similar dynamical histories are deduced in several more recent calculations4-6. An exact estimate of the time since the very close approach of the Moon is not possible because tidal friction is dependent on several factors, including variable geometry of the oceans. Estimates vary between 2.5 × 109 yr and 1.4 × 109 yr (refs. 1 and 4).

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Possible New Evidence bearing on the Lunar Capture Hypothesis does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Possible New Evidence bearing on the Lunar Capture Hypothesis, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Possible New Evidence bearing on the Lunar Capture Hypothesis will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1501983

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.