Spinning moons, planets and Sun

The Forces of Nature by Kelland Terry, Ph.D.
Dancing was still a big part of life when I was a child. Everyone in our small town would gather frequently to dance in a large hall that also served as a basketball court and an area to put on plays. Old folks, young folks, and those in between would dance with each other while those who couldn’t dance would sit and talk and watch the activities—there was no TV. Parent’s taught sons and daughters and older siblings taught younger siblings how to fox trot and waltz. Even our school teachers had a hand when it was raining and impossible to have recess outside. The fox trot and later swing was learned by almost everyone. Spinning across the dance floor with your partner was healthy for mind and body but is now a lost art form except for “Dancing With The Stars”.

Spinning is a curious attribute of all things both large and small, be it electrons, photons, or heavenly bodies, they all spin on their axes. The spin rates of the satellites in our solar system are strongly influenced by gravitational fields, the diameter of the satellite, and its momentum.

Just how the gravitational field affects the spin rate of the Earth and other satellites is complex. A dense field of gravitons serves as a positive factor to induce spin because satellites continually rub against this barrier at an angle, which causes the satellites to spin on its axes as discussed previously. On the other hand, gravity has a hand in holding our Moon in synchrony with Earth’s spin rate such that the same side of the Moon is always facing Earth. This is true for almost all moons in our solar system. This means that the force of gravity is also a negative factor reducing spin rate. In tomorrows blog I will discuss briefly how the diameter of the satellite influences spin rate. Perhaps you can already guess the outcome. Kelland—www.vestheory.com