Question

Give reasons for the following:
(a) We always see the same side of the moon.
(b) Eclipses do not occur on every new moon.
(c) Meteors glow red hot as they enter the earth's atmosphere.

Answer 1

(a) From the earth, we always see the same face of the moon because the moon takes 29 days to rotate on its axis and the same time to orbit the earth.

(b) Eclipses occur when the sun moon and the earth lie on the same plane. Eclipses do not occur on every new-moon night because the moon's orbit around the earth is tilted. Their orbits do not lie on the same flat plane on every new-moon night.

(c) As meteors enter the earth's atmosphere, they become red hot and burn because of friction with the atmosphere.