18 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: What was this object
The barycenter of the Earth and Moon is 5000km (3100 miles) from the center of the earth, or when the moon is directly overhead, about 1700km (1050 miles) beneath your feet.
In the Pluto Charon system, Pluto and Charon orbit a point between them both. It’s not located inside either object which technically makes them a binary system instead of object/moon.
Comment by mtnagel78 at 03/07/2024 at 16:50 UTC
7 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yeah, the Pluto/Charon system poses a much better example of what orbits what.
Thank you for the distances! I thought the barycenter was in the Earth but I wasn't confident.