urthest
from the sun, being now at a distance of 94-1/2 millions of miles, and
therefore its orbital velocity will be slowest at that part of its
orbit.

If it were absolutely at rest in space, and simply revolving on its own
axis, then the result would be that the moon would be circled round the
earth in an orbit _M_ _C_ _F_ which is perfectly circular in form; but, as
the earth is being carried along slowly through space by the circulating
Aether currents, this onward movement changes the circular orbit into an
orbit of elliptic form.

[Illustration: Fig: 28.]

The eccentricity of the moon's orbit when the earth is at its aphelion,
or furthest from the sun, is now at a minimum, for the simple reason
that the earth is proceeding slowly through space, owing to the
decreased kinetic energy of the aetherial currents at the increased
distance.

So that, at this point of the earth's orbit, the difference between the
two axes of the moon's orbit will be the least, and its orbit at that
point will be the nearest approach to that of a circle. But, as we have
already seen, as soon as the earth leaves this part of its orbit, and
begins to get nearer to the sun, it passes into a part of the aetherial
medium possessing greater kinetic energy, with the result that its own
velocity is accelerated. Now what is the effect of this increased
acceleration of the earth on the eccentricity of the orbit of the moon?

The earth's rotation on its axis remains unaltered during this
increasing orbital velocity, consequently the aetherial currents
generated by the earth will remain uniform, and the moon will still be
circled round the earth in the same period of about 28 days. But while
the time of the moon's revolution remains unaltered, the orbit that she
has to describe is now increased owing to the increased orbital
velocity of its central body, with the result, that by the time the
earth gets to that part of its orbit represented by point _D_, it is
then two millions of miles nearer to the sun than at point _C_, and will
be circled round the sun by the aetherial currents at a much greater
rate. Therefore, the eccentricity of the moon's orbit is increased just
in proportion to the increased velocity of the earth in its orbit round
the sun. By the time the earth has arrived at point _A_, when it is only
a distance of about 91 millions of miles from the sun, it reaches the
minimum distance, and is circled round at the decreased distance