Talks to Watch

The Moon's Orbit is WEIRD

1.9M views · Oct 2, 2024 · 5:30 · 4 HN recommenders · 4 mentions · discussed 2024–2026

A minutephysics explainer showing that the Moon's path around the Sun is not a spiral but closer to a 12-sided polygon with curved corners. It argues the Moon arguably orbits the Sun rather than the Earth.

Why Hacker News points people here: HN links it whenever the Moon's orbit comes up, as a concise explanation of why the Moon always curves toward the Sun.

“I can't explain better than minute physics, highly recommend”HN comment, 2026

What Hacker News said 4

RecommendsGuB-42Dec 2024

“the video goes into more details”

Explains the moon's orbit shape in detail.

Full comment

Minutephysics did a video about this: this video It looks like a dodecagon with rounded corners, but the video goes into more details.

Recommendsd1sxeyesJan 2025

“MinutePhysics did a great video on this”

Shows the moon effectively orbits the sun.

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It’s arguable that even the stuff we consider to orbit the earth like the moon is really orbiting the sun. MinutePhysics did a great video on this: this video

in “IAC confirms existence of a Super-earth in the habitable zone of a Sun-like Star” · view on HN
RecommendsnandomrumberApr 2026

“also mentions Earths gravitational dominance”

Explains the moon's orbit curving toward the sun.

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This video explains what you’re talking about re the moons orbit always curving toward the sun, and also mentions Earths gravitational dominance. It’s about the suns gravitational pull on the moon dominating over the Earths gravitational pull on the moon, but that due to the centrifugal force (there isn’t one, so conservation of angular momentum) the Earth's gravitational pull dominates. this video

in “Artemis II crew take 'spectacular' image of Earth” · view on HN
RecommendslgcmoJun 2026

“I can't explain better than minute physics, highly recommend”

Subtle explanation of the moon orbiting alongside Earth around the sun.

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Very cool! Just one note about the moon orbit around the Earth, it is far more subtle; almost just orbiting the Sun alongside Earth. I can't explain better than minute physics, highly recommend: this video

in “Show HN: Gravity – interactive solar-system simulator, from Newton to Einstein” · view on HN