Moon’s Origins – unknown
Earth’s neighbor, the Moon has been the subject of intense scrutiny by astronomers for at least 2,000 years. To this day, no one is certain what it actually is, how did it come in Earth’s orbit or who brought it there.
What is even more perplexing is that there are wildly different ‘official’ theories of scientific bodies and others who offer their own opinions while providing scant evidence in the process.
We have NASA, who maintains that the Moon is a result of a “fiery crash” between multiple planetary bodies. Russian scientists and astronomers spent several decades studying the Moon very closely. Their conclusion was somewhat different than NASA’s. And that is, the Moon is not a natural formation, instead it is an artificial satellite placed in Earth’s orbit. African tribes who trace their roots back several thousand years tell a story that in the distant past the Earth did not have a moon, and are quite certain it was brought in Earth’s orbit by a superior race roughly 12,000 years ago.
That’s not all – now, there are disagreements and speculations on the true distance between Earth and the Moon?
When you open any science school book, you will find out that the average distance between Earth and the Moon is 384,403 km (238,857 miles). But before you go thinking that this is the final answer, you need to consider a few things. For starters, note the use of the word “average”. This refers to the fact that the Moon orbits around the Earth in an elliptical pattern, which means that at certain times, it will be father away; while at others, it will be closer.
Hence, the number 384,403 km, is an average distance that astronomers call the semi-major axis.
However, there is a problem with this number. An increasing number of mathematicians and physicists question the 384,403km (238,857mi) as the correct number and believe the Moon is much closer than that! Considering the fact the Moon is 3,475km (2,159mi) in diameter, running a simple program/simulation, or even visiting Google Earth will reveal that the Moon will completely disappear from our view (Earth’s plane) at precisely 48,145 miles, which means it’s much closer than those 48,145 miles to see it in the current size.
Who is right, we leave it up to you to decide.
