Obiaks Blog

What if the moon fell on earth

What if the moon suddenly began getting closer to earth to a point where it was on a collusion course with our planet?  Will earth  survive the crash ? Would a crash even happen ? Would the moon get torn up? What will it look like from the earth? Here is what would happen fell to earth.

The moon is earth's only satellite, and the largest object to brighten  our night sky.Its the first and only place beyond earth where humans have set foot. The moons gravitational pull causes tides on earth. Tides that might have been the encouragement of life in our oceans to  move on land.The pull also keeps earth from wobbling on its axis, making our climates relatively stable.In  fact, the moon makes earth a more livable place. So what if it suddenly sped up, and starts driving in earths direction?

The moons plan to destroy Earth by bumping into it will break into pieces the moment it approaches the Roche limit. The moon itself will shatter, never making it to earths surface.And thats going to look very impressive!

But wait

What is the Roche limit ?

In celestial mechanism, it is a point where gravity holding a satellite together is weaker than the tidal force trying to pull it apart. In other words, The moon can only get as close as 18,470km (11,470 miles) away from our planet, before BOOM!! The tidal force will tear it a apart.

All the footprints and flags we've left on the moon, all of its craters and valleys would scatter to form a breathtaking ring of debris above earths equator. 37,000 kilometers (23,000 miles) in diameter making earth the second planets in our solar system, after Saturn, to have striking ring of beauty. The difference being that our ring wouldn't last long. The chunks of our former satellites, the Moon, would rain down on Earth. It would be as if hundreds of thousands of asteroids are falling down on us and wiping out an entire city in the process.

Once the moon begins its trajectory towards the planets, it will increase the tidal impact it has on us. By the time it hits the Roche limit, it would be causing tides as high as 7,600 meters (30,000 feet). Our world  will be devastated by an army 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, Earths rotation would speed up.our days would become shorter and shorter.Global temperature would go down and no one would worry about climate change anymore, unless asteroids burned the earth to a crisp: then there will 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 a rate of 4cm (1.5inches) per year. So its unlikely we will get to see those pretty, Saturn-like rings on Earth.