Have you ever wondered what would life be on Earth without the moon? All the planets in our solar system have moons orbiting around them. While some planets wouldn’t get affected much if one or two moons get knocked out of their orbit, the Earth is one particular planet that would get largely affected without the presence of the moon.
This is mainly because Earth’s moon is relatively bigger than the other moons circling around the other planets in our solar system. So one can only imagine what would be Earth without the moon or more particularly, what would be life on Earth without the moon. Indeed, life on Earth would be completely different if there was no moon.
What Would Happen to Earth Without the Moon?
Here is what will happen to Earth if there is no moon. On average, a full moon is 14,000 times brighter than Venue, the next brighter night-sky object. So when there is no moon shining up in the sky, every night would be plunged into darkness, becoming eerily dark as a new moon. It would seem like a perfect time for stargazing.
However, by the next morning, you would start realizing just how important the moon is for sustaining life on Earth. You must be already familiar that the sun and the moon together cause the tides. It is noteworthy to add here that between the sun, Earth’s rotation and the moon, the moon has the strongest influence on the Earth’s tides.
Without the moon, the high and low tides would not remain that strong and shrink by a greater percentage. As a result, the marine life will be greatly affected and the entire coastal ecosystems will be jeopardized. Even the diets of the larger animals that depend on the sea creatures for food will be hugely disrupted. It would take only a few decades for the entire population to decline in the sea as well as on land.
Apart from these changes, another major change for humans and other earthly life would be in the length of Earth’s day. The Earth would start spinning at a faster speed and the day would get shorter. But why would this happen? Let’s understand.
This would happen because billions of years ago when Earth was fairly young, our planet spun around its axis at a must faster speed, causing the cycle of day and night to be less than ten hours long. With time, the Earth’s rotation slowed down due to the ebb and flow of the tides. So, without the moon, you can imagine the day on Earth to be much shorter than what it is at present i.e. twenty-four hours.
On a lighter note, let’s not forget how important the moon is considered in our human culture. With no moon in sight, there would be no romantic moonlight walks along the beach, along the road, or anywhere else. There will be no moonlight dinners as well. Moreover, the concept of moon madness or lunacy will be completely abolished.