Just baffles me with how vast space is, yet these rocket scientists and astronomers can predict something so unique with such accuracy
In: Planetary Science
The orbits of planets and moons are extremely predictable because so few factors affect them, and are so large that almost nothing affects them at a macroscopic level. Once you know the Moon’s orbital path, orbital inclination, Earth’s rotational speed around the Sun, and the Earth’s tilt, you can calculate eclipses centuries in advanced down to the second with next to no margin of error. The size of these objects make them *more* predictable, not less. How predictable a system is boils down to how many factors there are, not the size of the system, and there are very few factors in play regarding the Moons orbit around the Earth.
Latest Answers