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SlippySlappySamson t1_iy5vve4 wrote

Reply to comment by Sand_Trout in ELI5: Why is moon so full of craters but earth isnt. by Stoghra

  1. The moon. It has significant gravity and has historically attracted much of the debris headed our way, and thus has more craters to be visible.
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FowlOnTheHill t1_iy7ll0n wrote

Couldn’t the same be true about earth? It’s significant gravity pulls away debris headed to the moon?

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SlippySlappySamson t1_iy7o852 wrote

Yeah, of course! The nature of orbital mechanics (and I don't understand it well at all) and the frequency at which the Moon orbits the Earth means that it's likely that anything zooming in is probably going to encounter the Moon's gravity first, but it's by no means guaranteed.

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