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I am genuinely curious if the Moon is hollow or not and what could be inside it. How is it that the Moon perfectly eclipses the sun and why does this happen?
by upupandup 4y ago
I am genuinely curious if the Moon is hollow or not and what could be inside it.
How is it that the Moon perfectly eclipses the sun and why does this happen?
So many questions about the Moon.
- ch4s3 4y agoYou're in luck! The moon has a solid iron, nickel core[1]. [1]https://moon.nasa.gov/inside-and-out/what-is-inside-the-moon https://moon.nasa.gov/inside-and-out/what-is-inside-the-moon
- tiffanyh 4y agore: Moon eclipses the sun. Answer in this very same thread https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31893908 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31893908
- rsynnott 4y ago> I am genuinely curious if the Moon is hollow or not and what could be inside it I mean, I think if it was, that would have caused some prior comment (and alarm). It's not hollow.
- pollyturples 4y agoApart from the geometrical explanation linked in the other comment, there's an Anthropic Principle angle here too -- the fact that eclipses seemed so "perfect and meaningful" to our ancestors was probably a big factor in the development of mathematics and engineering as they tried to predict the eclipses. another similarly intelligent species on a planet without such "perfect" eclipses wouldnt be intrigued by them enough to try to explain their timing. The fact that planets with such perfect sun/moon relationships are "rare" could be one of the missing factors in the Drake Equation. [something similar was a plot point in the scifi book Dragon's Egg]