Does the Moon revolve around the Earth, or do they spin around each other as they revolve around the sun?

1 Answer
Phillip E.
Jan 8, 2016

The Earth and the Moon both orbit around their centre of mass.

Explanation:

The center of mass of the Earth and Moon is called the Earth-Moon Barycenter or EMB. It is about 1,700km beneath the Earth's surface. Both the Earth and the Moon orbit around the barycenter.

Likewise the solar system has a barycentrer which is actually above the surface of the Sun. The Sun and all of the planets and other bodies actually orbit around the solar system barycenter.

The Earth-Moon barycenter orbits the solar system barycenter.

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