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What Happens to the Moon’s Orbit if its Orbital Speed Increases or Decreases?

-- Brooke | October 14, 2020

Question:

If we put rockets on the moon and increased its speed, what might happen?

-- Brooke

Answer:

Assuming that the placement of the rockets is such that the Moon’s orbital speed would increase, this would decrease the orbital period, or the time that it takes the Moon to complete one orbit. Since Kepler’s Third Law states that the square of the orbital period of an object like the Moon which orbits the Earth is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit, which is proportional to distance of the Moon from the Earth, the Moon’s orbital distance would decrease. Conversely, if the placement of the rockets on the Moon was such that it decreased ts orbital speed, the effect would be to increase its orbital distance.

-- Jeff Mangum

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