Isaac Asimov, a Russian professor of biochemistry and writer of popular science books, said that the Moon, which has no atmosphere and no magnetic field, is basically a freak of nature in that Earth is the only planet in the solar system orbited by a satellite so enormous in relation to the world it circles. It is bigger than the planet Pluto. Some scientists have even called it a twin-planet system, rather than a planet and a satellite. Asimov said that by all cosmic laws, the Moon should not be orbiting Earth. He went on: . .. we cannot help but come to the conclusion that the Moon by rights ought not to be there. The fact that it is, is one of those strokes of luck almost too good to accept ... Small planets, such as Earth, with weak gravitational fields, might well lack satellites ... ... In general, then, when a planet does have satellites, those satellites are much smaller than the planet itself. Therefore, even if the Earth has a satellite, there would be every reason to suspect ... that at best it would be a tiny world, perhaps 30 miles in diameter. But that is not so. Earth not only has a satellite, but it is a giant satellite, 2,160 miles in diameter. How is it then, that tiny Earth has one? Amazing.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 20:21:55 +0000
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