View Single Post
  #6  
Old 29-06-2012, 06:21 PM
gary
Registered User

gary is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Mt. Kuring-Gai
Posts: 5,999
Quote:
Originally Posted by astroron View Post
Gary,Does that also include the Moon drifting away at 2.5 centimeters per year?
Cheer
Hi Ron,

LOL! Thankfully not!

But according to this NASA web page from 1994, it is receding at about 3.8cm a year.
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/ApolloLaser.html

An improbably small amount, but knowing that may make the difference to
winning the trivia competition on a cloudy night at a star party.

By the way, speaking of star parties, where they do the laser range finding
to the reflectors on the Moon is from the McDonald Observatory, which we
visited in Texas, only a few miles away from where the Texas Star Party is held.
They'd probably say, "That's some more trivia for y'all".
Reply With Quote