Simulating the Phases of the Moon Shortly After Its Formation
Emil Noordeh, Patrick Hall, Matija Cuk
(Submitted on 10 Mar 2015)
The leading theory for the origin of the Moon is the giant impact hypothesis, in which the Moon was formed out of the debris left over from the collision of a Mars-sized body with the Earth. Soon after its formation, the orbit of the Moon may have been very different than it is today. We have simulated the phases of the Moon in a model for its formation wherein the Moon develops a highly elliptical orbit with its major axis tangential to the Earth’s orbit. This note describes these simulations and their pedagogical value.
Comments: 4 pages, 2 figures
Subjects: Popular Physics (physics.pop-ph); Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Physics Education (physics.ed-ph)
Journal reference: Phys. Teach. 52, 239 (2014)
DOI: 10.1119/1.4868942
Cite as: arXiv:1503.03041 [physics.pop-ph] (or arXiv:1503.03041v1 [physics.pop-ph] for this version)
Submission history
From: Emil Noordeh
[v1] Tue, 10 Mar 2015 19:28:45 GMT (1001kb)
