why is the moon round?

Question

why is the moon round?

In: 0

Answer 1

same reason any celestial body that is large enough is.

Hydrostatic balance/equilibirum, Aka: any body that is large enough ot have its own gravity well has to balance out its own internal pressure(pushing out) with its own gravity(pushing in) and to achieve this the shape you want to be in is perfectly spherical (as anything different would have gravity pull it into this shape ).

this is one of the criteria that separates planets from asteroids and other smaller celestial bodies.

for reference: https://asterism.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/tut38_Hydrostatic_Equilibrium_And_Planetary_Differentiation_pdf__page_2_of_7_-768×534.png