Tag: Lunar Laser Ranging
-
Moon Drifting Away From Earth: The Tidal Tug Revealed
Moon drifting away from Earth: the tidal reason The Moon is slowly moving away from Earth, at about 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) per year. This measured drift comes from precise lunar laser ranging, where lasers are bounced off corner-cube retroreflectors left on the Moon by Apollo missions and later spacecraft. Over decades of measurements, scientists…
-
Moon Moving Away from Earth: Tidal Forces Explained
What the new measurements show The Moon is drifting away from Earth at a steady pace—about 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) each year. This motion has been tracked with high precision using laser ranging, where pulses of light are bounced off retroreflectors the Moon received from astronauts during past missions. By measuring the round-trip travel time…
-
Moon Drifting Away From Earth: The Tidal Forces Behind the Mystery
Moon Drifting Away: The Slow Recession Explained Science has confirmed a long-persisting drift: the Moon is gradually moving farther from Earth. The rate is about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) per year, a tiny but measurable change that has intrigued scientists for decades. The figures come from Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) experiments that bounce laser pulses…