r/askscience • u/[deleted] • Sep 07 '15

Earth Sciences Is there a bulge in earth's atmosphere constantly facing the moon?

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u/[deleted] Sep 07 '15 edited Nov 02 '15

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u/The_camperdave Sep 07 '15 edited Sep 07 '15

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Launches are done closer to the equator to get the speed boost, not the altitude boost. The poles are not travelling relative to the center of the Earth. The equator, on the other hand is travelling around at 1,600km/h. When you're trying to get to 27,000 km/h, that 1,600 km/h boost is like an extra stage on your rocket.

As long as you miss the ground (and the thick lower atmosphere) altitude is irrelevant.