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Farther. Still hits.

Not to scale. Earth, mountain, and path are drawn so the idea can be seen.

If Earth pulls the Moon, why doesn’t the Moon hit us?

Eve can say this.

If Earth pulls the Moon, why doesn't the Moon hit us? Turn the speed. Watch whether the ball hits, loops, or leaves. If the Moon is up tonight, look.

Words Eve says

If Earth pulls the Moon, why doesn't the Moon hit us? Turn the speed. Watch whether the ball hits, loops, or leaves. If the Moon is up tonight, look.

Watch this one here.

Look at the Moon

A thought experiment and a look at the Moon. No projectiles, no climbing.

Tonight, if the Moon is up, look. It is falling toward Earth right now.

It keeps missing. That miss is the month.

You cannot throw a ball into orbit from your yard. Air would stop it, and your arm is not fast enough. That is why this one stays a drawing, and a look up.

What if there were no sideways speed at all?

Your question. Not ours. It stays on this device.

Look closer

Notice

A thrown ball always falls. Faster throws land farther away.

Earth is not flat. The ground curves away underneath a long throw.

There is a speed where the ball falls, and the ground falls away at the same rate. The ball never arrives.

What do you think will happen?

If we throw the ball sideways faster and faster from a high mountain, what can happen?

Change sideways speed.

Keep looking

What must be true?

Gravity does not switch off in space. It is what bends the path.

Orbit is falling and missing. The Moon is falling around Earth.

Astronauts feel weightless because they are falling too, the station and the people together.

The name is orbit. The action is falling.

Newton drew a mountain with a cannon. Slow shot: the ball hits nearby. Faster: farther. Faster still: the ball falls all the way around. That drawing is not to scale, and there is no such mountain. The International Space Station does the real version, about 400 kilometers up, moving sideways at about 7.8 kilometers every second. Gravity is not gone there. It is almost as strong as it is on the ground. The station is moving sideways so fast that the Earth curves away as it falls.

Eve can read this, if you want.

If Earth pulls the Moon, why doesn't the Moon hit us? A thrown ball always falls. Throw it faster, and it lands farther away. Fast enough, and the ground curves away as it falls. The Moon is falling. It just keeps missing. That miss is orbit. Look up tonight, if you can.

Words Eve says

If Earth pulls the Moon, why doesn't the Moon hit us? A thrown ball always falls. Throw it faster, and it lands farther away. Fast enough, and the ground curves away as it falls. The Moon is falling. It just keeps missing. That miss is orbit. Look up tonight, if you can.

Newton’s mountain, which never existed

In 1687, Isaac Newton published a picture: a cannon on a peak high enough that air would not matter.

The mountain is imaginary. The move is real. Sideways speed plus falling can be a closed path.

Plenty of people measured the sky before him. Newton’s drawing is one way to see why the Moon does not arrive.