The moon is the right size and distance for a perfect eclipse. This is
true, and also a coincidence. Current theory says that the moon and
earth split from each other eons ago, so we just happen to be living at
the right time.
Now, something else very odd about the moon, which most of us take for
granted, without thinking much about it, is that it always shows the
same face to us. This means that it rotates on its own axis in the same
amount of time as it takes to rotate around the earth - 1 month. On the
moon , a day IS a month. Stranger still, if you where on the moon,
looking back at the earth, the earth would always be (pretty much) in
the same position in the sky all the time, never rising and never
setting - just always sitting there. If you plan to buy land on the
moon take that into consideration first :)
But the rotation of the moon being tied to its rotation around the earth
is NOT a coincidence. It is caused by 'tidal forces'. The same process
that causes the tides has caused the moon to slow down its rotation to
synchronize with its rotation around the earth - all caused by gravity.
And why are the tides better some places then elsewhere. Its mostly to
do with the physical geography and shape of the land below the water. If
there are any geologists on the list, Im sure they can explain things
better than I can. But from what i remember every container as a
'resonant frequency'. A small bottle has a high frequency, if you blow
across the top like wwe all did as a kid. A larger bottle has a lower
frequency, etc. The largest tides in the world are in the Bay of Fundy,
Canada. It turns out that the resonant frequency of that bay is just
about 2 cycles per day - very low, but the same frequency as the tides.
The bay of fundy tends to suck its tides in and toss its tides out just
because of its shape!
David Patte
RelativeData.com
On 2011-07-03 20:55, Brent wrote:
Hello again;
I ask because there are a lot of very smart people on this list.
It seems odd to me that the moon just happens to be the right size and
the right distance between the earth and the sun to do the perfect
eclipse. Is this just coincidence or is there some good reason for that?
Also, they say the moon is responsible for our tides and our waves.
Why are the waves so much bigger in California and New Zealand than in
Thailand or the Philippines?
Their surf is pathetic.
thanks;
brent
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