BERNARD L COHEN wrote :
Basic Physics: No forces between the Earth and the moon can affect
the motion of the center of gravity of the Earth-moon system. It is that
center of gravity that orbits the sun, so there would be no effect on that orbit.
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Good point.
Moreover, it turns out that this same basic physics leads to the fact that sending anything - e.g.. nuke waste - into the sun is much more difficult (in terms of rocket energy & propellant expenditure -- specified by the "delta-V" required) than sending it to Mars or the outer planets. In the latter case, the spacecraft must be accelerated in order to reach the orbits of the more distant planets, while in the case of the sun and the inner planets (Venus, Mercury), the spacecraft must be decelerated, in order to drop into a lower orbit - or the sun itself. The delta-V's for inner orbits are much higher than for outer orbits, since the depth of the "gravitational well" increases sharply towards the sun, and much more "excess energy" must be dissipated in order to drop down into it (its the reason why exploration of the planet Mercury is so difficult, compared to the other planets). It would be easier to hit the sun by sending the spacecraft out to Jupiter and using its gravitational field to sling-shoot it backwards, in a somewhat more extreme manoeuvre than that which was used to send the Ulysses solar polar orbiter on its way......
Jaro