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July 11, 2019

What if the moon fell to earth?

What if the moon fell to earth?
What if the Moon suddenly began getting closer to earth? To the point where it was on a collision course with our planet? Would earth survive the crash? Would a crash even happen? Would the moon get torn up? What would it look like from the earth? The Moon is earth’s only natural satellite ,and the largest object to brighten our night sky. It’s the first and only place beyond earth where humans have set foot .The moon’s gravitational pull causes tides on earth .Tides that might have been the encouragement for life in our oceans to move on land. This pull also keeps earth from wobbling on its axis ,making our climate relatively stable. In short , the moon makes earth a more livable place. So … What is it suddenly sped up , and started driving in earth’s direction? The moon’s plan to destroy earth by bumping into it would break into pieces the moment it reaches the Roche limit. The moon itself would shatter, never making it to earth’s surface .And that’s going to look very impressive! But wait , what is this Roche limit? In celestial mechanics it is the point at which the gravity holding a satellite together is weaker than the tidal forces trying to pull it apart . In other words , the Moon can only get as close as 18.470 km (11.470 miles) away from our planet ,before BOOM! The tidal forces would tear it apart. All the footprints and flags we’ve left on the Moon , all of its craters and valleys would scatter to from a breathtaking ring of debris above earth’s equator . 37.000 km (23.000 miles) in diameter making earth the second planet in the solar system, after Saturn , to have this striking ring of beauty. The difference being that our rings wouldn’t last long. The chunks of our former satellite, the Moon, would rain down on earth. It would be as if hundreds of thousands of asteroids were falling down on us and wiping out entire cities in the process. Once the Moon began it’s trajectory towards the planet , it would increase the tidal impact it has on us . By the time it hit the Roche limit , it would be causing tides as high as 7.600 meters (30.000 feet). Our world would be devastated by an arms of tsunamis ten times a day .But for a short time, hardcore surfers would enjoy riding some tasty waves . On the other hand, this might become a solution to global warming. With the Moon coming closer, earth’s rotation would speed up. Our days become shorter and shorter. Global temperatures would go down, and no one would worry about climate change anymore . Unless asteroids burned the earth to a crisp. Then there would be no one to worry about anything .I really wouldn’t worry about it anyway. In fact, the moon is drifting away from us at the rate of 4cm (1.5inches) per year. So it’s very unlikely we’ll get to see those pretty, Saturn-like here on Earth. There are so many more hypothetical Earth destroying scenarios.

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