Consider the three items from Part A that are not relevant to the giant impact hypothesis. As you’ll learn in later chapters, the lack of volcanoes is a result of the Moon’s relatively small size. But what explains the other two items — the Moon’s synchronous rotation and gradually increasing distance from Earth?

a. Both are results of the Moon’s small size.
b. Both are results of tidal interactions between the Moon and Earth.
c. Synchronous rotation is simply a coincidence, and this coincidence in turn causes the Moon to move farther away with time.
d. The giant impact would have caused the Moon to rotate synchronously, and the outward fling from the impact would explain the increasing distance.


Ans: b. Both are results of tidal interactions between the Moon and Earth

Physics & Space Science

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