The
Earth and Its Moon| The
Earth and Its Moon |
In General, Parts and Properties
* Parameters: a = 150 Mkm = 1 au; REarth =
6378 km, Prev
= 365 d, Prot = 1.00 d; MEarth
= 5.972245 
.000082 
1024 kg (2001 value).
* Tides: There are terrestrial as well as water tides (the height
of Geneva varies by about 25 cm).
* Vibrations: 1998, several modes in MHz range seen, attributed to
atmospheric turbulence.
* Electric field: Near
the surface is it downward-directed and has a magnitude of 100-200 V/m; The
corresponding charges leak because of atmospheric conductivity on a time scale
of about 300 s, but the global circuit is charged by thunderstorms (cloud-to-ground
flashes).
@ Interior and tectonics: ThSc(90)sep,
23; Lay et al PT(90)oct;
Taylor & McLennan SA(96)jan [continental crust]; issue PW(96)may;
Jain et al APP(99)hp,
Ralston et al ap/99-in
[solar tomography]; Gurnis SA(01)mar [tectonics]; Kanamori & Brodsky PT(01)jun
[physics of earthquakes]; Alfè et al CP(07)
[core]; Argus pw(07)dec
[location of center].
@ Magnetic field: Jacobs CP(95);
Fuller et al AS(96) [reversal]; Harrison
AJP(01)RL;
Geissman pw(04)apr
[reversal]; Glatzmaier & Olson SA(05)apr
[geodynamo]; Stefani et al MHD(06)phy [reversal,
model]; Love PT(08)feb [monitoring].
@ Auroras: Jago 01 [Birkeland, r pw(01)sep]; news pw(08)may
[polarization].
Atmosphere > s.a. sound [acoustic gravity waves].
* Electricity:
The charge distribution in thunderstorms presents usually at least 4 regions
of alternating sign (
nC/m3),
but little is known about the horizontal E (02.1997; & T
Marshall, M Stolzenburg).
* Lightning: The mechanism
is not the type of breakdown we normally observe, because the intrinsically
occurring electric fields are far too small; Instead, it seems to be triggered
by runaway breakdown started by cosmic rays and their many charged secondaries;
The leader is formed by high-energy, relativistic electrons, which feel a smaller
drag
force
(dE/dx) than slow-moving ones and form a conducting channel
to the ground (they also increase the electric field, and emit X-rays and gamma-rays),
along which
a current
then
flows;
The
current
causes
the
visible
lightning,
and
heats
the
air
to
many thousands of K, which then expands and causes the thunder.
@ General references: Peixoto & Oort 92; Dauphas Icarus(03)ap
[origin].
@ Lightning: Diels et al SA(97)aug [control with lasers]; Mende et al
SA(97)aug
[above thunderstorms]; MacGorman & Rust [r PT(99)may]; Rakov & Uman 03
[r PT(04)dec];
Gurevich & Zybin PT(05)may
[cosmic rays and runaway breakdown].
@ Weather: Koscielny-Bunde et al PRL(98)
[t correlations];
Turner
PRP(98)
[ball
lightning]; Weart PT(03)aug
[rapid climate change].
@ Atmospheric optics:
Adam PRP(02)
[rainbows & glories];
Hardwick pw(04)feb; Fantz CP(04)
[rev].
@ Related topics: Bering et al PT(98)oct
[global
electric circuit]; Griffin et
al AS(02)
[global transport of dust]; Vollmer AJP(03)
[simple thickness estimate]; news sr(05)aug
[origin
of O dominance].
Special Topics > s.a. critical
phenomena; interstellar [dust]; light [rainbows].
@ Formation, early history: SA(93)jan, 90 [earliest history]; Ahrens PT(94)aug.
@ And space: Burch SA(01)apr [space storms]; Pustilnik & Yom Din ap/04-in
[space weather and prices]; > s.a. solar system [NEO's].
@ Orbit: Mohazzabi & Luecke AJP(03)
[eccentricity not due to asteroid collision].
@ Specific regions: Shepherd pw(06)may [Antarctica].
@ Other topics: Kirshner SA(94)oct
[elements]; Dalziel SA(95)jan [before Pangaea]; Johnson SA(98)aug [space debris];
Bourda
& Capitaine A&A(04)-a0711 [precession,
nutation, etc]; Genda & Ikeda a0709 [origin
of oceans].
Moon
* Motion: Recedes from the Earth at 3.8 cm/yr, and slows Earth's rotation.
* Formation: Probably
formed when a Mars-sized body smashed into the Earth, at least 4.5 Gyr ago,
ejecting matter into orbit and lengthening our day to its present value of
24 hours; At most two-thirds of the Moon is impactor material.
* Missions: 1996, Lunar
Prospector for minerals scheduled for launch in 1997.
* Artificial satellites:
The idea of geosynchronous satellites was first published by A C Clarke in
the 1950's; They orbit 35,900 km above sea level, 6.5 REarth;
The Shuttle and others orbit at 500 km, with a period of 90 min.
@ General references: North 00 [observation]; Arbab AGGH(04)ap/01 [evolution
of Earth-Moon system]; Spudis SA(03)dec [new findings]; Mohit AS(08)may [near
vs far side].
@ Formation: Taylor AS(87), Drake Nat(90)sep;
Münker et al Sci(03)jul
+ pw(03)jul;
Mackenzie 03 [r PT(04)may];
Belbruno & Gott AJ(05)ap/04;
Valley SA(05)oct [early evolution].
@ Related topics: Hershenson ed-89 [Moon illusion]; Vondrak & Crider AS(03)
[polar ice]; Hawke et al Icarus(04)
[crater rays]; Lester ap/07-in
[as a telescope site].
Main page – Abbreviations – Journals – Comments – Other
sites – Acknowledgements
Send feedback and suggestions to bombelli at olemiss.edu – Modified
9 jun 2008