--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the moon and earth were not retained…" description: "\"If the moon and earth were not retained in their orbits by their animal force or some other equivalent, the earth would mount to the moon by a fifty-fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/johannes-kepler-4278_animal_if-the-moon-and-earth-were-not-retained_77775.jpg" --- # If the moon and earth were not retained in their orbits by… ![“If the moon and earth were not retained in their orbits by their animal force or some other equivalent, the earth would mount to the moon by a fifty-fourth part of their distance, and the moon fall towards the earth through the other fifty-three parts, and they would there meet, assuming, however…” quote by Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/johannes-kepler-4278_animal_if-the-moon-and-earth-were-not-retained_77775.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/johannes-kepler-4278_animal_if-the-moon-and-earth-were-not-retained_77775.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/johannes-kepler-4278_animal_if-the-moon-and-earth-were-not-retained_77775.jpg) > “If the moon and earth were not retained in their orbits by their animal force or some other equivalent, the earth would mount to the moon by a fifty-fourth part of their distance, and the moon fall towards the earth through the other fifty-three parts, and they would there meet, assuming, however, that the substance of both is of the same density.” [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Illustrates how gravitational balance prevents celestial bodies from colliding, showing that without the mutual attraction they would converge dramatically. **In simple terms:** Gravity keeps Earth and Moon apart. Key Takeaway Balance of forces determines orbital stability. Themes gravity orbital mechanics balance celestial dynamics physics Mood awe curiosity Type scientific explanatory When to use this quote - spacecraft navigation - astronomy education - planetary formation models - science communication Key Concepts mutual attraction density distance force Practical Applications - explaining orbital decay - teaching gravitational concepts Questions to Reflect On - What would happen if Earth's gravity changed? - How does density affect orbital distance? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Orbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orbit/) ## Related quotes > [From the distance of the moon, Earth was four times the size of a full moon seen from Earth. 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Beyond it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cox/there-we-stared-out-among-the-darkness-and-the-stars-was-one-planet/) [James Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cox/) > [“telling me there’s no difference between the moon and the Earth?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/telling-me-there-s-no-difference-between-the-moon-and-the-earth/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [We are little animals walking on the ground, we have a certain life time, we are acting and interacting with different people, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-benoit-dunckel/we-are-little-animals-walking-on-the-ground-we-have-a-certain-life/) Jean-Benoit Dunckel ## More by Johannes Kepler > [Why are things as they are and not otherwise?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/why-are-things-as-they-are-and-not-otherwise/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [If God himself has waited six thousand years for someone to contemplate his works, my book can wait for a hundred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/if-god-himself-has-waited-six-thousand-years-for-someone-to/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [...Those laws are within the grasp of the human mind. God wanted us to recognize them by creating us after his own image so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/those-laws-are-within-the-grasp-of-the-human-mind-god-wanted-us-to/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [Just as the eye was made to see colours, and the ear to hear sounds, so the human mind was made to understand, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/just-as-the-eye-was-made-to-see-colours-and-the-ear-to-hear-sounds-so/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [I had the intention of becoming a theologian...but now I see how God is, by my endeavors, also glorified in astronomy, for 'the heavens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/i-had-the-intention-of-becoming-a-theologian-but-now-i-see-how-god-is/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [ \[Quantity is the fundamental feature of things,\] the 'primarium accidens substantiae,' ...prior to the other categories. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/quantity-is-the-fundamental-feature-of-things-the-primarium-accidens/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [Repudiating the sensible world, which he neither sees himself nor believes from those who have, the Peripatetic joins combat by childish quibbling in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/repudiating-the-sensible-world-which-he-neither-sees-himself-nor/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [If the earth were not round, heavy bodies would not tend from every side in a straight line towards the center of the earth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/if-the-earth-were-not-round-heavy-bodies-would-not-tend-from-every/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [Wherever there are qualities there are likewise quantities, but not always vice versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/wherever-there-are-qualities-there-are-likewise-quantities-but-not/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [Where there is matter, there is geometry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/where-there-is-matter-there-is-geometry/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [The soul of the newly born baby is marked for life by the pattern of the stars at the moment it comes into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/the-soul-of-the-newly-born-baby-is-marked-for-life-by-the-pattern-of/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [ So, Fabricius, I already have this: that the most true path of the planet \[Mars\] is an ellipse, which Dürer also calls an oval,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/so-fabricius-i-already-have-this-that-the-most-true-path-of-the/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [Ships and sails proper for the heavenly air should be fashioned. 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Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the moon and earth were not retained in their orbits by their animal force or some other equivalent, the earth would mount to the moon by a fifty-fourth part of their distance, and the moon fall towards the earth through the other fifty-three parts, and they would there meet, assuming, however, that the substance of both is of the same density.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Johannes Kepler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/if-the-moon-and-earth-were-not-retained-in-their-orbits-by-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/if-the-moon-and-earth-were-not-retained-in-their-orbits-by-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/johannes-kepler-4278_animal_if-the-moon-and-earth-were-not-retained_77775.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/johannes-kepler-4278_animal_if-the-moon-and-earth-were-not-retained_77775.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/420/johannes-kepler-4278_animal_if-the-moon-and-earth-were-not-retained_77775.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the moon and earth were not retained in their orbits by their animal force or some other equivalent, the…” — Johannes Kepler", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Johannes Kepler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If the moon and earth were...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/if-the-moon-and-earth-were-not-retained-in-their-orbits-by-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/if-the-moon-and-earth-were-not-retained-in-their-orbits-by-their/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```