Distance to the Moon: 380 thousand kilometers - a lot or a little?

Distance to the Moon: 380 thousand kilometers - a lot or a little?
Distance to the Moon: 380 thousand kilometers - a lot or a little?
Anonim

Agree, Space, alien planets, star clusters - this is a very, very exciting topic. For example, what is the distance to the moon? Surely many of you once asked this question! Or what is its origin? And what does it consist of? Maybe someone even lives there? Well, at least microorganisms? The distance to the moon has always interested mankind.

distance to the moon
distance to the moon

Development of ideas about the Moon

This celestial object has attracted the attention of people since ancient times. And at the dawn of the development of astronomy, the Moon became one of the first objects for observation and study. Information about attempts to trace the pattern of its movement through the firmament and explain them goes back to the Sumerian, Babylonian cultures, ancient Chinese and Egyptian civilizations. And, of course, to ancient Greece. The first known attempt to calculate the distance to the Moon (and also to the Sun) was made by Aristarchus of Samos.

distance from earth to moon
distance from earth to moon

This astronomer guessed that both mentioned celestial bodies are spherical, and that the Moon does not emit light, but only reflects the rays of the Sun. Based on observations of the phases of the moon, he compiled a set of geometric equations and calculated that the distance from the Earth to the Moon is less than the distance from our planet to the Sun by about twenty times. It is interesting that the ancient mathematician was mistaken in the same twenty times. More accurate data was obtained by his follower Hipparchus, who lived in the 2nd century BC. e. He calculated, by means of measurements similar to Aristarkhov's, that the distance to the Moon is about 30 times the radius of the globe, that is, about 380,000 kilometers. Later, these data were repeatedly refined, but Hipparchus was almost completely accurate. With the help of modern laser ranging systems (which operate on the principle of a reflected beam and then calculating the distance traveled by this beam at a known speed), it is possible to calculate the distance to the Moon to within centimeters. It fluctuates constantly, but averages 384,403 kilometers. For example, light takes a little over one second to travel this path, and the Apollo spacecraft that delivered the

what is the distance to the moon
what is the distance to the moon

on our first human companion, did it in just over three days. However, the problem here is not only in the speed of the apparatus itself, but in the need to calculate the movement of the Moon, fly along a certain arc and land in the required place. Thus, the path follows an arc, not a straight line. The record time for which a man-made spacecraft has reached a satellite today is 8 hours and 35 minutes. It was the New Horizons spacecraft launched by NASA.

The distance from the Earth to the Moon is increasing?

Yes! It really is. Our satellite moves as if in a spiral orbit. And every year the distance to it increases by about 4 centimeters. This is quite a bit for an individual observer. However, our distant ancestors will see the Moon much less. Moreover, the weakening gravitational interaction with it will lead to a decrease in the activity of the tides on Earth and will significantly transform the climatic conditions on our planet.

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