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Is the moon closer, farther away, or the same distance that it was 100 years ago?

Answer:

The moon is farther away now, and it is also moving faster, due to something called tidal braking. The moon's gravity pulls on the oceans, causing a tidal bulge. As the water is pulled by the moon, friction causes it to pull on the Earth's crust, slowing the Earth's rotation a tiny bit (It varies around 15 millionths to 25 millionths of a second per year.)

The same gravitational pull that slows the Earth's rotation also speeds up the moon's orbital energy, making it orbit faster, which causes it to move slightly farther away. The moon is about 3.8 meters farther away than it was 100 years ago.

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