I often encourage you to watch the videos I share. Today I’m begging you. Watch this short video. It is mind-blowing. I’ll explain why below.
Happy Moon Day.
Humans landed on the Moon for the first time on July 20, 1969. In 2021, this historic event has been overshadowed by news that the Moon wobble will intensify in the 2030s and contribute to major floods.
I’m not going to talk about this prediction. I want to talk about Moon wobble. I read an entire book about the Moon and didn’t learn about Moon wobble. What is it? How do we know the Moon wobbles? What the heck!
Moon wobble is not a new idea. It has been recorded since the 1700s. Here is an explanation of Moon wobble from NASA.
“The moon rotates once on its own axis during each 27-day journey around the Earth. But as the moon makes its elliptical orbit, its velocity varies and alters that synchronicity, causing our perspective of the “light side” to appear at slightly different angles throughout any given month. In short, the moon wobbles.”
This wobble means that throughout the Moon’s orbit, we actually see 59% of the Moon’s surface, instead of the 50% you’d think we would see since the Moon is tidally locked.
Remember up above, when I told you to watch this video? It made me a little queasy, but it is amazing to watch the face of the Moon vary. We don’t notice the wobble when we look at the Moon, but it is quite pronounced.
The scientific term for the Moon wobble is libration, from the Latin for balance scale. (That is where we get Libra, my sign.) When your friends and family talk about the Moon wobble (or you hear about it on a news channel), nod your head and say, “Ah yes, the libration.” Rub your chin at the same time.
So much happens in the universe that we never see. I am glad that I learned something cool about the Moon that I can ponder whenever I go for a walk at night.