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Apr 29, 2024 · What would happen if our closest neighbor, the moon, disappeared? Here we explore the possible effects it could have on the environment and life on Earth.
- 10 Earth’s Seasons Would Become Crazy
- 9 The Oceans Would Come Down
- 8 Say Goodbye to Any Other Moon
- 7 How About Much Shorter days?
- 6 Forget About Plate Tectonics
- 5 We’D Lose A Shield Against Unwanted Space Rocks
- 4 No More Moon, No More Gold
- 3 Earth’s Magnetic Bubble Would Be Switched Off Forever
- 2 Warning: Wild Weather
- 1 It Would Be A World Devoid of Intelligent Life
While the Earth revolves around the Sun, it also rotates on its own axis, which turns out to be tilted. Currently, the rotation axis of the Earth is inclined about 23.4 degrees, a value that does not change during the year. As a result, in a certain part of the year, the northern hemisphere is more oriented toward the Sun than the southern one is. ...
Among the best-known effects that the Moon produces on Earth are oceantides. Together with the Sun, the Moon is responsible for increasing and decreasing the level of our seas several times a day. As the Moon revolves around the Earth, the former’s gravity pulls the oceans toward it and thus high tides are created. In essence, the closer the Moon i...
Earth’s gravitational pull influences the height at which our spacecraft orbit the planet. For this reason, some structures in low orbits—such as the International Space Station—must make periodic corrections in their course to avoid falling into Earth’s atmosphere. However, there are points in space with a perfect balance between the gravityof the...
One of the things that makes our planet so habitable is its rotation time. Currently, Earth completes one revolutionevery 24 hours—specifically, 23 hours and 56 minutes. This allows the planet to have a pleasant climate for life because all its surface has enough time to warm and cool according to the moment. But this was not always the case. Scien...
By this point, we are already clear that the Moon’s gravity exerts great effects on the naturalprocesses of the Earth. For example, we saw that the Moon causes the ocean tides. But the Moon is so powerful over our world that it also produces tides on solid ground—something we know as Earth tides. Earth tides are fluctuations in the relative height ...
Today, we know that the Earth is bombarded by small meteoroids at a higher frequency than previously thought. The number of meteoricimpacts on our planet has tripled during the last 290 million years to the point that 33 tons of space debris fall to Earth every day. Due to their size, most of these rocks burn completely in the Earth’s atmosphere. H...
Gold, platinum, palladium, iridium. These metallic elements have proved extremely valuable to our civilization. We have used them in all kinds of inventions—from cars and spaceships to electronics and jewelry. But again, it is likely that we would not have such materials without the Moon. Why? To understand it, we must go a little deeper into the f...
Earth’s magnetic field(aka magnetosphere) is essential for the development of life on this planet. Such a magnetic bubble surrounds the Earth and constantly protects it from solar wind, a flow of charged particles that come from the Sun with the power to destroy our atmosphere. But the magnetosphere also protects us because it prevents life from be...
If there were no Moon, the weatherpatterns on Earth would go crazy. Of course, this assumes that the Earth still had an atmosphere. First, the destabilization of the Earth’s axis due to the lack of the Moon would cause extreme changes in global temperatures. As the poles would remain longer under the Sun’s heat, the surrounding oceans could reach a...
Despite everything we’ve already discussed, we have not delved into the fact that complex lifeon Earth might not exist at all without a moon to take care of us. Without the Moon, the Earth would have been hit by a greater number of large asteroids and planetary bodies. Under this scenario, life would have had a hard time trying to exist, which mean...
May 8, 2018 · The moon’s surface reflects the sun’s light, brightening our night sky. Without that indirect glow, any areas that don’t have access to artificial light, like country roads or wooded campsites,...
Nov 25, 2019 · Since its birth, the satellite has mostly just hung around, playing gravitational tug-of-war. But what would happen if the Moon vanished tomorrow?
Mar 2, 2017 · Destroying it would be a catastrophe, but would also change our world forever in some incredibly interesting ways. Destroying the Moon would result in approximately 7 x 10^22 kilograms of debris...
- Ethan Siegel
May 1, 2024 · The moon controls the tides, impacts marine ecosystems, and subtly influences time on Earth. So what would happen if the moon suddenly disappeared?
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Jun 20, 2024 · Explore the dramatic effects on Earth if the moon vanished. From tides to nights, life would change drastically in a moonless world. Dive in to learn more.
