An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The process whereby the → Moon gradually moves out into a slightly larger orbit. The → gravitational attraction of the Moon on the → Earth creates two ocean → tidal bulges on the opposite sides of our planet.

The Earth rotates faster than the Moon revolves about the Earth. Therefore, the tidal bulge facing the Moon advances the Moon with respect to the line joining the centers of the Earth and the Moon. The Moon’s gravity pulls on the bulge and slows down the → Earth’s rotation. As a result, the Earth loses → angular momentum and the days on Earth are gradually increasing by 2.3 milliseconds per century. Since the angular momentum in the → Earth-Moon system is conserved, the Earth must impart the loss in its own angular momentum to the Moon’s orbit. Hence, the Moon is being forced into a slightly larger orbit which means it is receding from the Earth. However, eventually this process will come to an end. This is because the Earth’s own rotation rate will match the Moon’s orbital rate, and it will therefore no longer impart any angular momentum to it. In this case, the planet and the Moon are said to be tidally locked (→ tidal locking). This is a stable situation because it minimises the energy loss due to friction of the system. Long ago, the Moon’s own rotation became equal to its orbital period about the Earth and so we only see one side of the Moon. This is known as → synchronous rotation and it is quite common in the solar system. The Moon’s average distance from Earth in increasing by 3.8 cm per year. Such a precise value is possible due to the Apollo laser reflectors which the astronauts left behind during the lunar landing missions (Apollo 11, 14, and 15). Eventually, the Moon’s distance will increase so much that it will be to far away to produce total eclipses of the Sun.

See also: → lunar; → recession.