Is there evidence that the moons' orbit of Earth is changing or ever has changed? Is it closer or further away?
by 
Zandalee.Lonely.Lunatic.3yrs-here
ANSWERS: 2
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The moon is moving further away over time. About 3.8 cm per year. The reason it's moving further away is due to tides. The Moon raises the sea level to make a tide on the Earth, but then the Earth is rotating more rapidly than the Moon, and the raised bulge acts to pull on the Moon and increase it's orbit's energy and hence its distance from Earth. The effect was predicted by George Howard Darwin (son of Charles Darwin) but the change in distance could not be successfully measured until the Apollo astronauts' left a laser reflector on the moon. Now we can use a laser range finder to measure the distance and change in distance to incredible accuracy.
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Quirkie's answer is correct. There is actual fossil evidence of the change. Some sea creatures lay down both daily and lunar monthly growth rings, and it can be seen that the month was shorter in the past, which means the moon was closer to the earth.
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