Did Earth once have multiple moons?

New Scientist ^ | 05:00 06 May 2008 | Ker Than

[Perdogg]

The ancient catastrophe that gave birth to the Moon may have produced additional satellites that lingered in Earth's skies for tens of millions of years.

A new model suggests moonlets may have once occupied the two Earth-Moon Lagrangian points, regions in space where the gravitational tug of the Earth and the Moon exactly cancel each other out. Objects trapped in these points are called Trojans and can remain stationary forever if left undisturbed.

Scientists think the Moon was created when Earth was struck by a Mars-sized object some 4.5 billion years ago.

[Man50D]

I once read that the moon was much closer to earth thousands of years ago and is moving away from the earth at the rate of an inch per year.

[JRandomFreeper]

Earth was struck by a Mars-sized object some 4.5 billion years ago.

I was NOT driving.

/johnny

[hiredhand]

Sheesh...scientists change their friggin minds every decade about every major scientific theory ever conceived. Where they get this stuff from? They must simply pull it out of their asses. That’s my guess. :-)

[wastedyears]

Yeah, I’ve heard that too. The moon is slowly spiraling away from the Earth, but at its current rate, I’ll be long gone before it gets bad.

[Man50D]

Yeah, I’ve heard that too. The moon is slowly spiraling away from the Earth, but at its current rate, I’ll be long gone before it gets bad.

What a negative attitude! ;O)

[Argus]

Objects trapped in these points are called Trojans and can remain stationary forever if left undisturbed

Yup, had one of those in my wallet for years as a teenager.

[San Jacinto]

Global Warming has already destroyed most of our moons and will certainly pick off the last one as well if the U.S. doesn’t quickly enslave itself to China and the Third World as demanded by algore.

[Gorzaloon]

Sheesh...scientists change their friggin minds every decade about every major scientific theory ever conceived. Where they get this stuff from? They must simply pull it out of their asses. That’s my guess. :-)

NEW Scientists do. I think it is a pretty silly site, myself, and am rather sad about it. Maybe it means the SAT Scores have been renormed a few times too many.

Besides, Science is Too Hard. Get the parents to take out a third mortgage so someone can major in Feminist Issues or Art History..You know, something that produces VALUE.

[hiredhand]

Yeah...and assault weapons jump off the rack and murder people at will! "Everybody" KNOWS this. :-)

[hiredhand]

We homeschool for this reason....the dumbing down of “core” subjects. Well...that’s only ONE reason. But it’s one of a few. :-)

[doc1019]

if left undisturbed

ROFL!

[Krankor]

Not if you really take care of yourself- eat right, exercise,
get plenty of sleep....

[RockinRight]

It is moving away, something to do with the laws of gravity. Most satellites of most planets do the same, except for Phobos (Mars’ inner moon) which is actually moving towards the planet. From what I remember, there is a point where beyond it, satellites will slowly inch away, and in front of it they’ll move towards the object.

[San Jacinto]

and assault weapons jump off the rack and murder people at will!

Actually, I thought they were stolen by SUV's and transported to various crime scenes to do their mischief.

[Mr_Moonlight]

Yeah, I’ve heard that too. The moon is slowly spiraling away from the Earth, but at its current rate, I’ll be long gone before it gets bad.

Green Cheese can be nasty stuff to be around ........ /laughs

[rmlew]

This is new? I thought I saw this assumption on the Discovery Channel last year.

[hiredhand]

...and I’ll bet they had teflon coated cop-killer bullets in them too! :-)

[Mr_Moonlight]

Objects trapped in these points are called Trojans and can remain stationary forever if left undisturbed

Yup, had one of those in my wallet for years as a teenager.

Not going there ..... /chuckle

[Mr_Moonlight]

satellites will slowly inch away

Awww man .. there goes my DirecTV :(

[null and void]

Are you going to change your name to Mr_Moonslight?

BTW, if you think Green Cheese is nasti a Chocolate Moose byte can be pretty nasti tu...

[JRios1968]

I once read that the moon was much closer to earth thousands of years ago and is moving away from the earth at the rate of an inch per year.

All together now...

 

BUSH'S FAULT!

[VanDeKoik]

I always kinda wished Earth had a second moon. Something about the size of Phobos.

[OCC]

Objects trapped in these points are called Trojans and can remain stationary forever if left undisturbed
Yup, had one of those in my wallet for years as a teenager.

OK, thats the best laugh I had all day! I better log off now and quit while I'm ahead.

[pissant]

Frank Zappa’s kid is named Moon Unit

[AntiKev]

I hope you still teach science. Because homeschool with no proper science education is worse than public school with a bad science education. I don’t care if you agree with the currently accepted theories or not, they are the current state of human knowledge.

[robomatik]

don’t forget dweezil. :)

[75thOVI]

So you’re just going to leave the rest of us to clean up the mess. Some people’s kids.....

[Gorzaloon]

We homeschool for this reason....the dumbing down of “core” subjects. Well...that’s only ONE reason. But it’s one of a few. :-)

My mother was bored and homeschooled me before the Public Schools got ahold of me. It was good, and bad.

Good, in the I had an enormous head start.

Bad, in that first and second grades were..well..Kind of like a coma.

I finally blew up and destroyed my "We Look And See" book, and had to pay for it out of my piggy bank.

Read the National Geographic and the Encyclopaedia at home, then be expected to recite "See Dick Run! Run, run run!" the next day. It was an exercise in degradation and disgust.

[hiredhand]

The current “state of human knowledge” is to deny God, and receive just rewards from it. Accepted “theories” are little more than accepted opinions, often time spoken in a false air of authority, but having little (if any) factual basis behind them.

Whether or not it makes you feel any better, we do teach science. But not the slanted drivel that is taught in government schools.

[BenLurkin]

A good reason to never take theoretical science to seriously.

[skinkinthegrass]

S.W.A.G......well, Scientific Wild Ass Guess_bump
of course, I had to say it.

[rawcatslyentist]

>"they are the current state of human knowledge. "

Death to the round worlders!

[Oztrich Boy]

I once read that the moon was much closer to earth thousands of years ago and is moving away from the earth at the rate of an inch per year.
All together now...

BUSH'S FAULT!

Nah Global Warming. The moon's orbit is expanding as it gets hotter.

[hiredhand]

We started homeschooling for a couple of reasons. Probably the biggest was that I have some exemplary kids who simply weren't getting the attention they needed, nor were they being properly challenged. Also, one had a minor disability at the time, and therefore an IEP (individualized education plan) that our school system pretty much refused to honor. When we legally forced them, they worked by the letter of the law, which was doing the absolute MINIMUM required. So one week, we simply removed them from the public school system...my RN/BSN Neuro-Science wife quit her job, and we started homeschooling. The principal told us that homeschooling was tough! She said that we'd be back in six months. That was 8 years ago, and one will graduate HS soon.

You probably know this, but after the primary grades things change quite dramatically. The "kids" don't require the near constant supervision. So long as they stay on track and on schedule, we are "hands off". Now and then, they get behind a little. Or in the case of my 13 yr old, he stays ahead and pursues other interests such as metalworking.

People think that we actually care that they don't homeschool. We could care less. But very often times, when people discover that we're homeschoolers, they say, "Oh we would homeschool, BUT..." Or they think that our kids are poorly socialized. That one always makes us laugh. One kid is dual enrolled HS/College. One owns a profitable soap company, and has become a fairly well known dairy goat breeder here in the state. The last one builds custom outdoor furniture and sells it at a local farmers market. Needless to say, the social skills required to perform these things are far above the level of being "poorly socialized". But we could really care less if other people don't want to homeschool. We sacrifice a second paycheck and decided to TRULY put our kids first. We don't care that much if others don't want to do it.

How long ago was it that your Mom homeschooled you? Schools have changed a LOT since my wife and I were in them. It's not the same place. The NEA and their vile influence has permeated them, as well as socialists, and communists, and the global warming shriekers, and those wanting to teach the kids that there are acceptable alternate lifestyles. Our local schools aren't that bad, but they were lacking enough.

[hiredhand]

Yeah...S.W.A.G.! :-)

[aft_lizard]

Well I for one am glad they’re gone, just imagine the tides and volcanic activity due to extra gravitational forces tuggin at this planet.

[wastedyears]

It would have been nice if my parents had homeschooled my sister and I.

I went to a high school reunion open to all grades, which had a dismal turnout. I was walking around the halls and I saw a lot of signs about practicing safe sex, and where and when to obtain condoms during school hours. I was kinda shocked at that. Even though my last year there was 2004, it has certainly changed.

[hiredhand]

I understand. My last year in the public school system was in 1981, but 3.5 years prior to that were parochial schools. So needless to say, my last six months in the government school system was a shock. I've got younger friends who have graduated from HS in the past few years and they pretty much validate what you say.

My 18 yr old recently took his drivers training at the local HS. He said it was an absolute "zoo". The instructor/teacher had no authority. Profanity was commonplace as was the constant use of cell phones and text messaging (in spite of a rule against it). He said he never saw so many self absorbed, emotionally confused people in one place together. He said it was a real "freak show". Then he thanked us for homeschooling him. :-)

[LiteKeeper]

INTREP

[Poincare]

The moon's orbit is expanding as it gets hotter.

Actually the Earth IS slightly heated from tidal friction which, given conservation of energy, causes a reduction in kinetic energy of the Earth-Moon system. The moon moves away and the Earth spins slower (longer days) because angular momentum is conserved.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I once read that the moon was much closer to earth thousands of years ago and is moving away from the earth at the rate of an inch per year.

The moon is tidally locked to the earth, always presenting more or less the same face. The earth used to rotate much faster, but the earth is gradually transfering angular momentum from its rotation to lunar orbital motion, causing the earth's rate of rotation to slow down, by about 0.002 seconds per day per century. Counterintuitively, as the angular momentum of the moon increases, so does its period as it is ejected to a higher, but slower and longer orbit.

Eventually, the length of day on the earth will match the period of the moon's orbit at about 47 current days. When that happens, the earth and moon will both be tidally locked to one another (today the only two objects in the solar system known to be mutually tidally locked are Pluto and Charon) and the transfer of angular momentum from earth to moon will stop.

Days will be 47 days long, and on one side of the earth, the moon will never be seen. Months won't be the same length as a day because a month depends on the synodic (Moon-Earth-Sun) period, 47 days is the sideral period (with respect to the fixed stars).

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Yup, had one of those [Trojans] in my wallet for years as a teenager.

You are familar, of course, with the Greek Camp and the Trojan Camp?

[Waco]

Stichin

[Frank Sheed]

I was just gonna’ say... I’ve seen many, many moons in my days. Has this writer ever been to any good frat party?

Frank

[NewLand]

Did Earth once have multiple moons?

Absolutely! Here's proof...

[null and void]

He said he never saw so many self absorbed, emotionally confused people in one place together.

...and the students weren't any better...

[hiredhand]

Good point! :-)

[isrul]

I read something about such a theory in the late 1960’s. Seemed to make sense at he time. I was quite young and figured if there was another moon and it was closer, it would effect gravity and allow things to possibly grow much larger than they can today. Like those critters that used to frolic around this very warm globe.