Waxing Gibbous September Moon
Why doesn't the Earth's satellite Moon fall and hit the planet Earth?
The moon is always falling toward our planet Earth due to the Earth's gravity pulling the Moon toward its center.
However, the Moon's forward momentum at just the right velocity and the Earth's curvature combined are what prevent the Moon from actually hitting our planet Earth. The Earth is constantly turning the moon away from a straight-line path into the almost circular orbit around the Earth.
Now, the Earth is not a perfect sphere, so the Moon is very gradually getting closer to our planet and will someday look noticeably larger in the sky.
Waxing Gibbous September Moon
Why doesn't the Earth's satellite Moon fall and hit the planet Earth?
The moon is always falling toward our planet Earth due to the Earth's gravity pulling the Moon toward its center.
However, the Moon's forward momentum at just the right velocity and the Earth's curvature combined are what prevent the Moon from actually hitting our planet Earth. The Earth is constantly turning the moon away from a straight-line path into the almost circular orbit around the Earth.
Now, the Earth is not a perfect sphere, so the Moon is very gradually getting closer to our planet and will someday look noticeably larger in the sky.