On the Secular Recession of Earth-Moon System as an Azimuthal Gravitational Phenomenon

Abstract

We here apply the ASTG-model to the observed anomalous secular trend in the mean Sun-(Earth-Moon) and Earth-Moon distances. For the recession of the Earth-Moon system, in agreement with observation, we obtain a recession of about 11.20 ± 0.20 cm/yr. The ASTG-model predicts orbital drift as being a result of the orbital inclination and the Solar mass loss rate. The Newtonian gravitational constant G is assumed to be absolute time constant. Standish (2005); Krasinsky and Brumberg (2004) reported for the Earth-Moon system, an orbital recession from the Sun of about (15.00±4.00) cm/yr; whileWilliams et al. (2004); Williams and Boggs (2009); Williams et al. (2014) report for the Moon, an orbital recession of about 38.00mm/yr from the Earth. The predictions of the ASTG-model for the Earth-Moon system agrees very well with those the findings of Standish (2005); Krasinsky and Brumberg (2004). The lost orbital angular momentum for the Earth-Moon system – which we here hypothesize to be gained as spin by the two body Earth-Moon system; this lost angular momentum accounts very well for the observed lunar drift, therefore, one can safely safely say that the ASTG-model does to a reasonable degree of accuracy predict the observed lunar drift of about 38.00mm/yr from the Earth.