> wish they explained why the moon being that much closer would have such a dramatic effect on the day length. Can someone explain this? Seems off to me, but I'

> wish they explained why the moon being that much closer would have such a dramatic effect on the day length. Can someone explain this? Seems off to me, but I'm very physics-naive Earth-Moon momentum is conserved. Think of a pregnant woman (the Earth) spinning on a seivel chair. The woman gives birth to her child (the Moon) and she takes the child in her arms and extends it at arm's length. Their rotation slows down, just like an iceskater slows down when spinning and extending their arms. The Earth does not have phisical arms holding the Moon, but it has gravity and the Moon also has gravity that affects the ocean tides -- the tidal effects are like tiny tiny arms that both the Earth and the Moon use to push eachother away (and lose a lot of energy in the process also). The Earth is losing rotational momentum at the expense of the Moon, which is gaining momentum and increasing speed in traveling around the Earth which increases the centrifugal force which means the Moon goes to a higher and higher orbit and further and further away from Earth.