Re: Challenge to Jim Scotti

Article: <6jhgpf$7aq$1@dfw-ixnews12.ix.netcom.com> 
Subject: Re: Challenge to Jim Scotti
Date: 15 May 1998 13:43:11 GMT

In article <355862F2.6534@my.signature> Joshua Hewitt writes:
>> It increases its speed, it is pointing more toward the Earth
>> than away, with an angle less than 90 degrees, and then .. 
>> and then .. it pulls AWAY from the Earth, pointing slightly
>> more AWAY than toward?
>
> I suppose what you expect is that the moon would spiral into
> the Earth until we had a colision. Or if the opposite were true,
> it would spiral out and get lost in space. So why is this not 
> true? When the moon trajectory/moon-earth angle is less than
> 90 degrees the moon is speeding up, "spiralling" into the 
> earth. However, the earth is not in the centre of the spiral, 
> but on the far side, so by the time the moon has got closest 
> to earth, the angle is exactly 90 degrees, but the speed is 
> considerable as well, having the effect of making it "spiral 
> out" with an angle 90. Then, at the farthest point from earth,
> the angle is again gone down to 90 because of the geometry
> of the ellipse. ... 

(Begin ZetaTalk[TM])
You have two bodies in space, closer to each other than to any other
body, and the gravity attraction between them is put aside as these
bodies ARE DRAWING GEOMETRY!  You're having trouble explaining this
because it is nonsensical, and only flies when a professor or one of
the astronomy elite explains this illogic to drones that are sitting
mindlessly before them.  You have, in the military arsenal, what are
termed heat seeking missiles.  These missiles, once loosed and locked
onto the hot spot, DO NOT draw geometry in the air unless you consider
the curves it makes while changing direction to keep the hot spot in
its sights.  It AIMS for the hot spot.  In like manner, the Moon is
aiming for the Earth.
(End ZetaTalk[TM])