The moon rotates once per revolution around the Earth, but that’s not a coincidence. Somehow the rotation and revolution are connected to each other. Some force is keeping them the same. How exactly does that work?

  • Hypersapien@lemmy.worldOP
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    1 year ago

    Other people have explained it, and the same thing happens with other moons in the solar system, including some orbiting gas giants where your explanation couldn’t have worked.

    The Earth’s gravitational field elongates the moon slightly, and an elongated satellite tends more to stabilize its rotation with the longer diameter fixed to point at the center of its orbit.