The impact of Luna on the humanity that lives on Earth was enormous. Its cycles defined calendars, and seasons, and were even directly associated with the Cold War thanks to the space race.
But on a physical level, the Moon also influences the tides and light exposure on the surface, two fundamental elements for human navigation, as well as the migration of animal species.
but Can you imagine what life would be like without the Moon, if one day it simply disappeared? This statement is not as far-fetched as it sounds, because according to NASA scientists, the natural satellite is moving away from our planet at a slow but consistent pace.
Why does the Moon decline?
Due to the interaction of the forces of gravity between both objects, it is that they are close to each other. 3.8 centimeters further with each passing year, according to reports from NASA.
It is both the force of the Moon’s gravity that pulls on the seas and slightly deforms the surface of the planet, as well as the natural satellite that also changes its circumference due to the forces of the Earth that pull on it.
The constant interaction caused the Earth’s rotation to slow down, as a way to conserve the energy of its motion.
“As the Earth’s spin slows down, for angular momentum to be conserved, something must increase the angular momentum of the system,” the University of California astrophysicist told Live Science. Madelyn Broome. “What increases angular momentum? An orbiting object like the Moon is moving.”
Are we losing it?
As much as it is impossible to imagine life without the moon, is that the satellite can be far enough to be out of the range of sight of the planet.
It is estimated that in one 50 billion years more effects of both gravities will cause a block with which the Earth will only show one of its faces to the Moon and it will be at this point that both bodies will finally stop moving away.
But long before we get anywhere near that date, in about 5 billion more years, the sun is starting to die. The star will become a red giant that will grow to such a size that it will pulverize both the Earth and the Moon, preventing the satellite from ever leaving our sight (at least according to current calculations).
