I understand that there is a transfer of energy between a moon and a planet depending on whether the moon is orbiting faster or slower than the spin rate of the planet. This would obviously change the orbital velocity of the moon. I also know from orbital mechanics that if you change the velocity (delta v) of an object with a circular orbit that it makes the orbit more elliptical. I'm sure that there is more at play here due to tidal influence, but I am hoping that someone here can simply explain this to me.
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5$\begingroup$ See tidal circularization. $\endgroup$– Qmechanic ♦Commented Jul 7 at 19:04
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$\begingroup$ So long as one assumes the planet's atmosphere does not extend anywhere near the moon's orbit, there aren't any forces at work other than the tidal actions. BTW, for perfectly rigid bodies the orbits won't change AFAIK $\endgroup$– Carl WitthoftCommented Jul 8 at 13:42
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