Question:
does the moon shake?
anonymous
2008-08-13 20:36:03 UTC
me, my brother, and my cousin were walking watching the full moon and we saw the moon shake. i dont know if its true and can really happen but i would really like to know. if anyone could help me that would be really apreciated. thankss (:
Eight answers:
anonymous
2008-08-13 20:39:45 UTC
the atmosphere has a way of distorting light and it can look wavy...



but no the moon doesn't shake... ti's moving far to fast to just wobble on it's line of orbit, and it has no tectonic or volcanic activity... the moon is just a life less, but massive, rock.
crooker
2017-01-20 01:30:19 UTC
Moon Shaking
anonymous
2008-08-13 20:49:20 UTC
Not that you can see but there is a phenomena called 'Lunar Libration', a slight rocking motion that makes about 59% of the Moon's surface visible from our planet Earth -- though only 50% at any one time.





There are various causes for libration. There are also different kinds of libration: libration of longitude and libration of latitude.





Libration of longitude, the Moon's east-west wobble, is a product of the Moon's elliptical (elongated) orbit. Although the Moon's rotation is nearly constant, its orbital speed various, going fastest at perigee (Moon's closest approach to Earth) and slowest at apogee (Moon's farthest point from Earth).





At perigee or apogee, there is NO libration of longitude. Maximum librations are seen about one week AFTER perigee and one week AFTER apogee, revealing (depending upon the month) up to 8 degrees of longitude on the Moon's far side. Following perigee, the Moon's rotation can't keep pace with its orbit, so a slice of the Moon's back side slips into view along the Moon's east (or right) limb; following apogee, the Moon's rotation surges ahead of its orbit, causing a sliver of the Moon's back side to appear along the west (or left) limb.



Libration of latitude, the north-south nodding, results primarily from the approximate 5 degree tilt of the Moon's orbital plane in respect to the ecliptic (Earth's orbital plane). Add to that, the approximate 1.5 degree tilt of the Moon's equator to the ecliptic, and you have the inclination of the Moon's equator to the plane of its orbit around Earth at some 6.5 degrees (5 + 1.5 = 6.5). Consequently, during the month, you can see a maximum of 6.5 degrees of latitude beyond the Moon's north pole, and a fortnight later, 6.5 degrees past the south pole.



Your position on Earth also has some, but significantly less, bearing on latitudinal libration. If you reside at far northern latitudes, you see further north on the Moon than someone in the Southern Hemisphere. Of course, the reverse is also true: someone in the Southern Hemisphere sees more of the Moon's southerly features.





Your positon also influences longitudinal libration -- though once again, rather marginally. At moonrise, you can make out a little more of the Moon's east (or top) limb; and at moonset, a little more of the Moon's west (and now at top) limb.
doug_donaghue
2008-08-13 22:49:00 UTC
All of the above answers are correct. But there -are- very tiny vibrations (like micro-earthquakes) htat happen on the Moon. And there are larger ones that happen when a large piece of 'space junk' impacts the Moon.

But what you saw was some sort of atmospheric phenomena.



Douog
froggyontop
2008-08-14 11:31:08 UTC
Yeah Im talking about Moon shook me allllll Night Loooongggg.
TMABM
2008-08-13 20:39:09 UTC
im sorry but the moon does not necessarily shake, it would take tons force to get something as big as that to shake
anonymous
2008-08-13 20:37:55 UTC
no
Quasar
2008-08-14 04:04:56 UTC
*laughing*



No.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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