CBSE Class 9 Answered

Dear student,

The Moon will not leave the Earth's gravity, even though the orbit of the Moon is increasing slightly. The Earth's rotation is slowing down (due to "tidal braking"), and to conserve angular momentum the Moon is accelerating. The Moon's orbit increases by about 3 cm/year.

The Earth and the Moon eventually will be "locked" together with each only having one side constantly facing the other. The Earth and the Moon revolve around the center of mass (CM) of the Earth/Moon system, which in turn is revolving around the CM of the solar system, which in turn is revolving around the CM of the Galaxy...

The Earth is most of the mass of the Earth/Moon system, so the CM is closer to the Earth, and the Sun is most of the mass of the solar system, so the CM of the solar system is actually inside the Sun. But from far away, the paths of the Earth and Moon WOULD look like braided strings around the Sun.

The Moon does add drag to the Earth's rotation in the form of tides, both oceanic and internal. This added drag tends to stabilize the rotation. It is also gradually slowing down the rotation of the Earth, which gradually lengthens Earth days.

Hope this helps.

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