Both the Earth and the Sun exert a force on the moon, but the force of the sun's attraction on the moon is much greater, so why does the moon stay in orbit around the earth and not accelerate toward the sun? The net force is toward the sun, so why does the moon maintain it's orbit around the earth?
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No the earth exerts the greater force.
The force an object experiences due to the gravity of another object is dependent on two things.
1. The total mass of BOTH objects
2. The distance.
Although the sun is larger, its distance means its effect on the moon is not as great as the nearby earth.
This also why we stay put and dno not fly off towards the sun!
>>*Solving for the forces<<
Yeah nice try. I'm not doing your homework for you, maybe someone else will.
Actually Im wrong...I think. What this guy says makes sense:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind…
The force an object experiences due to the gravity of another object is dependent on two things.
1. The total mass of BOTH objects
2. The distance.
Although the sun is larger, its distance means its effect on the moon is not as great as the nearby earth.
This also why we stay put and dno not fly off towards the sun!
>>*Solving for the forces<<
Yeah nice try. I'm not doing your homework for you, maybe someone else will.
Actually Im wrong...I think. What this guy says makes sense:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind…
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I believe the correct answer is that the Earth exerts a greater attraction for the Moon. This is why it is in orbit here and not around the sun. likewise the Moon exerts a greater pull on the Earth than does the Sun !
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Because the Earth and the Moon are so much closer to each other than either one is to the Sun.