A coincidence that bothers me

[pvn]

[ QUOTE ]
I've heard it described as a "stunning stellar coincidence" that the moon exactly covers the sun during a solar eclipse. The actual "coincidence" is that the sun, which is 400 times larger than the moon, just happens to be 400 times further away from the earth than the moon.

A fourth grader can point out that the shapes of continents on a world map fit together like puzzle pieces.
In the past this was dismissed as merely a fantastic coincidence. Then came the discovery of plate tectonics.

"Fantastic" or "stellar" coincidences bother me. It seems to me that when something looks to be a "fantastic" or "stellar" coincidence theres probably a correct explanation, not dependent on chance.

Stu

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The Moon is receding from earth by like 3cm per year or so. Just wait a while and this coincidence goes away forever.

[chezlaw]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I've heard it described as a "stunning stellar coincidence" that the moon exactly covers the sun during a solar eclipse. The actual "coincidence" is that the sun, which is 400 times larger than the moon, just happens to be 400 times further away from the earth than the moon.

A fourth grader can point out that the shapes of continents on a world map fit together like puzzle pieces.
In the past this was dismissed as merely a fantastic coincidence. Then came the discovery of plate tectonics.

"Fantastic" or "stellar" coincidences bother me. It seems to me that when something looks to be a "fantastic" or "stellar" coincidence theres probably a correct explanation, not dependent on chance.

Stu

[/ QUOTE ]

The Moon is receding from earth by like 3cm per year or so. Just wait a while and this coincidence goes away forever.

[/ QUOTE ]
but that means the OP was correct, just got the wrong date. Spooky stuff!