What will happen if the Earth loses the Moon? Without the moon

For almost a full 4.5 billion years of our history solar system The Earth was alone and revolved around the Sun. Our giant lunar companion is larger and much more massive than any other moons compared to the planets they orbit. In its full phase, the Moon shines brightly at night, and throughout its history it has been associated with phenomena such as madness (or sleepwalking), animal behavior (howling at the Moon), agriculture (the full moon before the autumn equinox) and even women's menstrual cycles. Its destruction would be catastrophic, but it would also change our world forever in some incredibly interesting ways.

1) When the Moon is destroyed, its fragments will fly towards the Earth, but this may not lead to the destruction of life. Imagine a weapon so deadly that it would be able to gravitationally release the moon and tear it apart. This will require a piece of antimatter the size of an average asteroid (about a kilometer in diameter), and then its parts will scatter in all directions. If the explosion is weak enough, the fragments will form one or more moons; and if he is strong, then there will be nothing left at all; and if he does the right strength, then it will create ring system around the Earth. Over time, these lunar fragments will be knocked out of orbit by the Earth's atmosphere and a series of collisions will occur.

However, these impacts will not be as destructive as in the case of asteroids or comets, which we fear so much today. While chunks of the Moon may be massive, dense, and perhaps even larger than the dinosaur-killing asteroids, they will still have much less energy. Asteroids or comets colliding with the Earth will move at speeds of 20, 50 or even more than 100 kilometers per second, while lunar fragments will move at a speed of only 8 kilometers per second, and they will only enter our atmosphere tangentially. However, pieces of the Moon falling to Earth will have destructive force, but this force during a collision will be only 1% of the total energy in a collision with an asteroid of comparable size. And if the falling pieces are small enough, then humanity will easily survive their impact.

2) The night sky will naturally be much brighter. Once the Moon and all its remnants disappear, the second brightest object in the Earth's sky will completely cease to exist. While the Sun is naturally 400,000 times brighter than the full Moon at perigee, it is in turn 14,000 times brighter than the next brightest object in the sky, Venus. If you take the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, the full Moon can take you to number 1 - the clearest and most natural dark sky of all possible options- right up to the 7th or 8th level, thus eclipsing even the most bright stars. Without the Moon, there will be no interference with clear, dark skies on any day of the year.

3) There will be no more eclipses. Are we talking about a solar eclipse - partial, total or annular - or lunar eclipses when this natural satellite The Earth falls into our shadow; in any case, there will be no more eclipses. An eclipse requires the presence of three objects and their specific alignment - the Sun, a planet and the moon of that planet. When the moon passes between the Sun and a planet, a shadow can be cast on the surface of the planet ( full eclipse), the moon may cross the surface of the sun (an annular eclipse), or it may only eclipse part of sunlight(partial eclipse). However, if there is no moon at all, then nothing like this happens. Our natural satellite will never be able to fall into the Earth's shadow if it does not exist, and thus eclipses will be done away with.

4) The length of the day will become constant. You may not have given it much thought, but the Moon provides a negligible frictional force to the rotating Earth, and as a result, its rotation speed gradually decreases. We may lose just a second here or there over many centuries, but they add up over time. Our modern 24-hour day had only 22 hours during the time of the dinosaurs and only 10 hours several billion years ago. And in four million years, we won't be adding any more days to our calendar because the rotation rate will slow down and the length of the day will continue to increase. However, without the Moon all this will stop. We will have a 24-hour day every day until the sun runs out of energy and goes out.

5) Our ebbs and flows will be insignificant. The tides present interesting, significant differences for those of us who live close to the coast, especially in a bay, narrow inlet, channel or other area where water accumulates. The tides on Earth are mainly due to the influence of the Moon, while the Sun has only a minor effect on the tides we see today. During the full moon and new moon, when the Sun, Earth and Moon line up in a certain line, we experience the highest spring tide - this is the time of the largest possible difference between the level of high tide and low tide. When they are at right angles to each other during the quarter moon, we have the lowest water level - and this is the moment least changes. The spring tide is twice as high compared to the highest low level, however, without the Moon, the tides will be very small, and in magnitude they will be only a quarter of the current maximum level.

6) Our axial tilt will be unstable. This is an unpleasant thing. The Earth rotates on its axis at an inclination of 23.4 degrees relative to our orbital plane around the Sun (this phenomenon is called obliquity or obliquity). You might think that this has nothing to do with the moon special treatment, however, over tens of thousands of years this slope changes - from 22.1 degrees to 24.5 degrees. The moon represents a stabilizing force, while worlds without big moons- like, for example, Mars - over time they experience a change in inclination tens of times greater. On Earth, if there is no Moon, our deviation, according to current estimates, will at times exceed 45 degrees, and this will make us a world that will spin on our sides. The poles will always be cold, but the equator will not necessarily be warm. Without the Moon to stabilize our position, glacial period will spread to different parts of our world every few thousand years.

And finally:

7) We will no longer have a convenient launch pad to fly to the rest of the universe. As far as can be judged, humanity is the only species that has willingly entered the surface of other worlds. Part of what was done between 1969 and 1972 can be explained by the fact that the Moon is so close to the Earth. The distance is only 380 thousand kilometers, and the rocket can cover this path in about three days, and a flight to the Moon and back at the speed of light will take only 2.5 seconds. As for the next closest objects - Mars and Venus - the flight to them will last several months, the flight there and back will take more than a year, and the communication signal will travel this distance within large quantity minutes.

Going to the Moon is the easiest "training trip" we could ask of the Universe if our goal were to explore the rest of the Solar System. Perhaps someday we will use it again, as well as all that it gives to the Earth - and this is not such a distant time.

Ethan Siegel - astrophysicist and writer,

he is also the founder and primary writer of the blog Starts With a Bang.

The moon can be perceived as a friendly neighbor, who, nevertheless, keeps to himself and does not force himself on friends. We quite like our neighbor, but if he moved, we would have to worry about what might happen in his absence.

When the Earth was very young (30 million years old) and was a clot of molten lava, a giant cosmic body hit the Earth, capturing part of its hot mantle, and ricocheted back into space. This is how the Moon was formed.

A billion years ago, the Moon ceased to be geologically active. But this does not mean that the Earth's satellite does not perform important functions.

1. Tides and ocean height

Perhaps the most obvious sign of the Moon's absence will be changes in tides. If the moon did not influence our oceans, the tides would be three times stronger. The Sun, of course, also influences tidal changes, but it does not have the same powerful force as the Moon. The moon also affects the height of the ocean; The Moon's gravitational pull causes the water to "swell" around the middle of the earth. In other words, there is less water at the poles than at the equator. If there were no moon, the bulge of water would disappear, heading towards the shallower poles.

2. Earth's rotation

Every day, the Moon slows down the Earth's rotation by a tiny amount of time. Dividing "microseconds per year" by 365 days gives you this amount of time. If we didn't have the Moon, which slows down the planet's rotation, we would "spin" to a six-hour day. While this may seem funny, keep in mind that a six-hour day can come with consequences. various kinds. Firstly, winds and storms would increase. Secondly, it would likely affect the development of life on our planet. With a few short hours available daylight and darkness, who knows how plants and animals would have developed further.

3. Earth's axis

The Moon also influences the Earth's axis, helping us maintain the graceful tilt of 23 degrees, thanks to which we have a fairly good climate and living conditions. Without the Moon, we would risk leveling out or falling on our side. At vertical position(nearly zero tilt) we would see the sun for just a few minutes - like Uranus, with its 97 degree tilt - or we could get 42 years of continuous sunshine, followed by 42 years of darkness.

Sgushchenkin, there hasn’t been such a collection of nonsense for a long time, starting with the title...
15. “The moon helps the planet maintain its axis of rotation at one, its usual angle of 22-24 degrees.”
What helps Mars maintain such an inclination? A brick in the shape of a skinny Phobos? What about the giant Saturn? His poor icicles? Why did Uranus turn on its side? Did the moon fly by?
14. "Without the Moon in the sky tilt earth's axis will change quite quickly, which will lead to huge changes on our planet in a very short time."
Will not change.
13. "Without the Moon, the Earth's rotation speed will change. The Moon slows it down, taking part of the Earth's rotation energy for its own orbit."
Will not change. The Moon slows down the Earth's rotation, creating a tidal hump on the planet, including in the crust. Without this tidal hump, the rotation will stabilize and the speed will not change. Almost. The sun also creates a tidal hump, only smaller. So the Earth will continue to slow down its rotation.
"abrupt disappearance of the Earth's gravitational force"
What, what?! Gravity on Earth can only decrease by three cases: if the Earth loses mass while maintaining its radius, or if the Earth is inflated in all directions while maintaining its mass.
12. “If the Moon disappears, we will gradually see volcanoes awakening - one after another, somewhere within a couple of years.”
If the Moon disappears, tidal deformations will disappear earth's crust and along with them lithospheric tectonics and volcanism will disappear.
11. “The Moon is very important for the development of science and its loss would be irreparable.”
The moon has already been studied far and wide. It has practically no scientific value, and no industrial value either.
10. "There will be no more tides"
They will. From the sun. But 3 times less than from the Moon.
9. "Let's imagine that the Moon exploded..."
Let's imagine that grandma suddenly has eggs. What will happen to grandfather's sexual orientation?
8. “The gravitational pull of the Moon causes a bubble of water to “swell” around the middle part of the Earth. Without the Moon, the bubble will burst and you can imagine, where will he go water."
I'm just shocked. Does anyone else know about a bubble of water around the middle of the Earth?
7. The Earth's rotation speed will increase
For those especially gifted who repeat this point a second time, the speed of the Earth’s rotation will not change.
6. "protects from asteroids... if there is no Moon, then the next such collision is much more likely to happen to the Earth."
On the contrary, it was the Earth that had just cleared everything possible from asteroids around its orbit. And in the process of “clearing” it served as an accelerator for asteroids, which hit the Moon with even greater speed and eagerness, experiencing a gravitational maneuver in the Earth’s gravitational field.
5. "The tilt of the Earth's rotation axis will change"
One more repetition? Will not change.
4. "there are still many people involved in agriculture, check with the phases of the Moon - when to plant what, when to fertilize, when to harvest, etc. Especially small farmers who are simply accustomed to doing this. If the Moon disappeared, what would they, poor people, do? Farms will have to be closed."
Well, of course. It's easier to close a farm than to buy a calendar.
Maybe your periods will finally stop?
3. "Those who love to look at or photograph the night sky will have the chance to see the bright stars without induced moonlight, in their original form."
Well, yes, after all, just looking at the sky on a moonless night is not destiny for many... WHAT TO DO
2. "The werewolves won't have anything to howl about!"
Don't pour any more condensed milk!
1. "But in in this case These will be wars over garbage waste, and very brutal ones - as always, when people have nothing left to lose."

With the release of the movie Oblivion, many wondered: what would happen if Earth's Moon was destroyed? “I don’t know,” many answered themselves. - “What will happen when the Moon is destroyed?” Let's not guess whether the chicken crossed the road or not, but just try to answer this question.

The first thing that comes to the mind of scientists is how will the Moon be destroyed? If, for example, the Death Star is nevertheless built and it randomly breaks the Moon into pieces, they will fly in the same orbit, and therefore have the same gravitational influence on the Earth. There will be few changes. This is not a black hole in the solar system.

Still from the movie "Oblivion". In the background is the moon destroyed by aliens.

Yes, we wouldn't watch anymore lunar phases at night, but saw a glittering cloud of debris that would likely have been much brighter than the full Moon since there would have been a larger surface area reflecting the light. There are even some astronomers who hate this new clutter in the night sky in advance.

But if the Moon were completely stolen (or sold, as Heinlein was), gravity would change significantly. The tide schedule could be thrown away.

Ocean tides will occur, but the water will follow the sun, so you'll probably see big waves all over the place day after day. Some fishermen would appreciate this.

Since tidal forces also affect the Earth's core, there is sure to be some turmoil within. Earthquakes. Several severe volcanic eruptions. Something like that. But California, Japan and Crimea will not go under water.

However, in long term the problem will get worse. Now the Earth's rotation axis slowly wobbles every 26,000 years, like a top, as it feels the gravitational rope of the Sun. Due to wobble, the North Star does not always point exactly north. Experts agree that the Moon is a kind of shock absorber for this vibration, preventing it from becoming completely loose.

It is quite possible that, left without the Moon, the Earth will wobble wildly, like Mars, for example. The Red Planet's wobble is so extreme that it may be causing its climate to change. If the same thing happens on Earth, the blue planet could become a real monster and slightly lose its position for rainbow habitat.

Without the Moon, the tilt of the Earth's axis could change - from the current 22-25 degrees to an angle of zero to 85 degrees. Zero will eliminate the seasons, and an 85-degree flip will put the Earth on its side. If this happened, the current crisis we call global warming would be a pleasant tea party compared to the potential one.

Fortunately, the loosening of the earth's axis will affect us only after many millions of years.

And if we don’t die of boredom during this time, we will have to silently watch as the disappearance of the Moon destroys our culture and art, animals, music, poetry, photography and so on.

A natural question arises. We will survive if the alien invaders destroy the Moon first. But why do they need this?

With the release of the movie Oblivion, many wondered: what would happen if Earth's Moon was destroyed? “I don’t know,” many answered themselves.

The first thing that comes to the mind of scientists is how will the Moon be destroyed? If, for example, the Death Star is nevertheless built and it randomly breaks the Moon into pieces, they will fly in the same orbit, and therefore have the same effect on Earth gravitational influence. There will be few changes. This is not a black hole in the solar system.

Yes, we would no longer see lunar phases at night, but we would see a glittering cloud of debris that would likely be much brighter than the full Moon because there would be more surface area reflecting light. There are even some astronomers who hate this new clutter in the night sky in advance.

But if the Moon were completely stolen (or sold, as Heinlein was), gravity would change significantly. The tide schedule could be thrown away.

Ocean tides will occur, but the water will follow the sun, so day after day you may see big waves everywhere. Some fishermen would appreciate this.

Since tidal forces also affect the Earth's core, there is sure to be some turmoil within. Earthquakes. Several severe volcanic eruptions. Something like that. But California, Japan and Crimea will not go under water.

However, the problem will get worse in the long run. Now the Earth's rotation axis slowly wobbles every 26,000 years, like a top, as it feels the gravitational rope of the Sun. Due to hesitation polar Star does not always point exactly north. Experts agree that the Moon is a kind of shock absorber for this vibration, preventing it from becoming completely loose.

It is quite possible that, left without the Moon, the Earth will wobble wildly, like Mars, for example. The Red Planet's wobble is so extreme that it may be causing its climate to change. If the same thing happens on Earth, the blue planet could become a real monster and slightly lose its position for rainbow habitat.

Without the Moon, the tilt of the Earth's axis could change - from the current 22-25 degrees to an angle of zero to 85 degrees. Zero will eliminate the seasons, and an 85-degree flip will put the Earth on its side. If this happened, the current crisis we call global warming would be a pleasant tea party compared to the potential one.

Fortunately, the loosening of the earth's axis will affect us only after many millions of years.

And if we don’t die of boredom during this time, we will have to silently watch as the disappearance of the Moon destroys our culture and art, animals, music, poetry, photography and so on.

A natural question arises. We will survive if the alien invaders destroy the Moon first. But why do they need this?