Evolution of the Earth/Moon system (VIDEO)

University of California - Davis

Caption

This animation shows the relative orientations of Earth's spin and the Moon's orbit during the Laplace plane transition. Soon after Earth and Moon form, Earth's axis points towards the Sun (blue) as the Moon orbits Earth (red circle). Over millions of years, the Moon orbits further from the Earth and the Earth's day gets longer. At the LaPlace Plane transition, a transfer of angular momentum causes Earth's axis to tilt perpendicular to the Sun.

Credit

Matija ?uk, SETI Institute

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