Book 1, Question 93
Why Doesn't the Moon Fall Down? It's Falling Around Us!
Earth's gravity pulls on the Moon all the time, so why does the Moon not crash into us? The Moon is also zooming sideways very fast, and its sideways speed is just right. Instead of crashing, it keeps falling around Earth in a never-ending path. The page says the Moon is falling around us, not into us. It also compares this with Earth orbiting the Sun: same idea, huge scale!
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 1
More fun facts
- The Moon orbits Earth at about 2,288 miles per hour.
- The Moon is about 240,000 miles (384,000 km) from Earth on average.
- The Moon takes about 27.3 days to go around Earth once.
- The Moon spins exactly once for each trip around Earth, so the same side always faces us.
- All of the solar system's large moons always show the same face to their planets.
- Moonlight is really sunlight bouncing off the Moon.
- Gravity from the Moon pulls on Earth's oceans and causes tides.
Sources: Caltech, NASA, NASA Science, NASA Space Place
Questions kids ask
How fast does the Moon move?
It orbits Earth at about 2,288 miles per hour.
Why do we always see the same side of the Moon?
The Moon spins once for every trip around Earth, so the same side always faces us.