Question

the earth orbits the sun because the suns gravity pulls on it. why does the moon orbit the earth and not the sun? the moon is much closer to the earth than it is to the sun. the gravity from the sun is stronger than the gravity from the earth at that distance. so the moon orbits the sun, not the earth. the moon is actually much closer to the sun than it is to the earth. therefore, the moon is orbiting the sun and the earth happens to be in its path. the moon is much closer to the sun than it is to earth. the gravity from the sun is stronger than the gravity from the earth at that distance. so the moon orbits earth, not the sun. the moon is much closer to the earth than it is to the sun. the gravity from earth is stronger than the gravity from the sun at that distance. so the moon orbits earth, not the sun. *please choose an answer

Explanation:

The Moon orbits the Earth because it is much closer to the Earth than to the Sun, and the gravitational - pull of the Earth on the Moon is stronger than that of the Sun at that distance. Gravity depends on the mass of the objects and the distance between them. According to Newton's law of universal gravitation $F = G\frac{m_1m_2}{r^2}$, where $F$ is the gravitational force, $G$ is the gravitational constant, $m_1$ and $m_2$ are the masses of the two objects, and $r$ is the distance between them. The shorter distance between the Earth and the Moon makes the Earth's gravitational pull on the Moon dominant compared to the Sun's pull on the Moon at that proximity.

Answer:

The Moon is much closer to the Earth than it is to the Sun. The gravity from Earth is stronger than the gravity from the Sun at that distance. So the Moon orbits Earth, not the Sun.