Our Earth May One Day No Longer Have the Moon.
The Moon plays an important role for Earth. (Image source: Pixabay).
The Moon has existed for approximately 4.5 billion years, forming just about 1,000 years before our planet. This natural satellite plays a crucial role in making Earth a more habitable planet by stabilizing its axial tilt, resulting in less temperature variation. It also generates tides, which have guided humanity for thousands of years.
Recently, scientists discovered that the Moon is gradually drifting away from Earth.
The Moon is the only natural satellite that orbits our planet. Previously, it was believed that the Moon maintained a constant distance from Earth due to gravitational forces, but this new discovery has raised various questions regarding the Moon. According to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the Moon is moving away from Earth at a rate of 3.8 cm per year.
Professor Joshua Davies from the University of Québec at Montreal finds this new revelation about the increasing distance between the Moon and Earth to be fascinating.
Although scientists have predicted this phenomenon for centuries, they have only recently confirmed that the Moon was once much closer to Earth, approximately 250,000 km nearer than it is today.
Simulations of the Earth-Moon system’s evolutionary process show that at this rate of separation, the Moon will stop drifting away from Earth in about 15 billion years. Meanwhile, the Sun is expected to enter a dangerous “Red Giant” phase in about 6 to 7 billion years. At that time, the Sun will expand to 100 times its current size, engulfing the nearby planets.
Scientists believe that if the Moon were to completely separate from Earth, it would be pulled into the Sun and ultimately disappear.
The phenomenon of the Moon drifting away has also affected Earth’s climate. Although these changes are negligible in the short term, their impact will become more pronounced over billions of years.
