What is synchronous rotation? Synchronous rotation occurs because the tidal forces over time have slowed the rotation of the moon until it is synchronized with the Earth. This happens to other planets and their satellites too. Whoa! What does synchronized mean? It means, the moon makes 1 revolution around the Earth and it spins 1 time during that revolution. The moon orbits the Earth once every 27.322 days. It also takes approximately 27 days for the moon to rotate once on its axis. As a result, the moon does not seem to be spinning but appears to observers from Earth to be keeping almost perfectly still. Scientists call this synchronous rotation. The orbit and the rotation aren't perfectly matched, however. The moon travels around the Earth in an elliptical orbit, a slightly stretched-out circle. When the moon is closest to Earth, its rotation is slower than its journey through space, allowing observers to see an additional 8 degrees on the eastern side. When the moon is farthest, the rotation is faster, so an additional 8 degrees are visible on the western side. https://www.space.com/19619-top-10-moon-facts.html This is a bit of information to digest. But one thing is true, our moon rotates. Really. The hard part is explaining that bit of information....
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Mrs. TaylorI love science! Everything about the world is interesting and never boring. I love to study plants, animals, insects, and people. My favorite subjects are my students who are the most unique organisms on the planet! Categories |