From the June 2007 issue

Why is the Moon’s orbital distance increasing over time?

Gene Solloway, Edmond, Oklahoma
By | Published: June 1, 2007 | Last updated on May 18, 2023
The Moon’s increasing distance has to do with a physics concept called angular momentum, which is a body’s resistance to a change in its rotation or orbit. If we look at the Earth-Moon system, we find two sources of angular momentum — Earth, which rotates once every 24 hours, and the Moon, which orbits the Earth every 27.3 days. The Moon’s increasing distance has to do with a physics concept called angular momentum, which is a body’s resistance to a change in its rotation or orbit. If we l…