The moon has been endowed with high symbolic significance by humans since ancient times, and there are myths and legends about the moon in different religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds, and people also believe that the moon can bring some mysterious powers to people.
In modern society, the moon is considered to be a beautiful guardian of the earth, not only guarding the earth at all times, but also having an important impact on life on earth.
But scientists have recently asked the question: What would happen to the Earth if the moon suddenly disappeared?
Lead
To answer this question, we first need to understand the role of the moon and how it affects the Earth's environment and climate.
1. The important role of the Moon
The important role of the Moon has many aspects: first of all, it affects the rotation of the earth, and there are quite a few things related to the moon in nature, among which one of the most intuitive phenomena in nature is the tides.
For most people, tides are probably the high and low tides in the ocean, but in fact, it is not only the ocean that has high and low tides, but also other places on the earth.
In fact, the tidal phenomenon is caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and the difference between various places on the earth: after the gravitational pull of the moon is applied to a certain place on the earth, the water will be attracted to that place, resulting in the phenomenon of high tides;
Otherwise, it is a phenomenon of low tide, so it can be said that the gravitational pull of the moon causes the liquid earth to move.
We can also see how strong the gravitational pull of the moon is, that there are two highs and two lows in a day on Earth, which is called a semi-diurnal tide.
In practice, although the gravitational pull of the moon is much smaller than that of the sun, it is the main cause of tides on the earth, and the gravitational pull of the moon is also the cause of the tides on the earth, so the tides on the earth are mainly generated by the moon.
The second is that the existence of the moon allows the earth to have a stable axis of rotation, and the axis of the earth is not straight, but has a certain inclination and swing, which is an important phenomenon in the existence of the earth's magnetic field.
Because there are oceans on the earth, folded crust, these will have a certain impact on the earth's axis of rotation, so without the gravitational pull of the sun and moon, the earth's axis is very unstable.
But the presence of the Moon has stabilized this unstable axis, which makes the magnetic field on Earth very stable, which helps life on Earth to exist.
In addition, the Moon is also the protector of the Earth's atmosphere, and its existence will make the Earth's atmosphere more stable, so that life on Earth can survive better.
The gravitational pull of the moon will also stabilize the air and atmosphere on Earth, and can also reduce the temperature difference on Earth, and we can imagine that if the Earth does not have the presence of the Moon, then at night, all life on Earth may die due to the cold.
The important role of the Moon (continued)
Secondly, the gravitational pull of the moon also has a very important role, that is, it has a great impact on the ocean tides on the earth, the moon drives the tides on the earth, and the earth will also have a tidal impact on the moon.
The tides on the Earth will cause the celestial bodies on the Earth to oscillate to a certain extent, and at the same time, the rotation speed of the Earth will be slower, which will slow down the rotation speed of the Earth, and the rotation speed of the Moon will also become faster.
In addition, the moon will also have an impact on the geological activities on the earth, the earth's crust is unstable, so there will be geological activities on the earth, and the existence of the moon will make the geological activities relatively stable.
The existence of the Moon also plays a very important role in the biological and ecological environment of the Earth, and the tidal phenomena brought by the Moon can allow life on the Earth to experience periodic changes.
Human habits may make people ignore this, but for many organisms, cyclical changes play a very important role in their lives, which can make the life of the creature more regular, and people can arrange their lives according to this law.
In addition, the existence of the Moon also has some effects on life on Earth, and the nucleated angiosperms and certain animals on Earth are affected by the gravitational pull of the Moon, which will cause some changes in the life cycle and behavior of these creatures.
3. The moon suddenly disappeared
If there is no moon, then there will be many important things happening on the earth, the most intuitive effect of which is that the ocean tides will become out of control, without the gravitational pull of the moon, the water in the ocean will not be constrained, and it will become very unstable.
In this way, the oceans on the earth will flow rapidly, resulting in a large area of the oceans being submerged, and the creatures living on the earth will suffer great disasters at this time.
Although some organisms may adapt to this kind of life at first, when the subsequent ecological environment becomes more harsh, then these organisms will also be destroyed, and eventually the extinction of the organisms.
In addition, without the moon, there will be no more tides on the earth, which will prevent the life on the earth from experiencing cyclical changes, which will make the life of the creatures more irregular, and eventually affect the survival of the creatures.
In addition, without the Moon, the Earth's rotation will become very unstable, and without the Moon's gravity, the Earth's axis of rotation will no longer be constrained, which will make the Earth's rotation very fast, resulting in a very harsh environment for the life of organisms on the Earth.
At the same time, the speed of rotation of the earth becomes faster, and the creatures on the earth will be thrown outward due to inertia, which will cause the creatures of the earth to suffer destruction, and eventually lead to the extinction of organisms.
On the other hand, when the Earth's rotation speed becomes faster, the Earth will leave its circular orbit, which will cause the Earth's orbit to become very unstable, which is likely to cause the Earth to escape the gravitational pull of the Sun, and eventually collide with the Sun and be destroyed.
epilogue
It can be said that the existence of the moon not only brings life to the earth, but also provides a springboard for mankind to explore the universe in the future, and the development of lunar resources may become an important base for mankind in the universe.
However, the impact of the sudden disappearance of the moon on the earth may not only be catastrophic ecological damage, but also the earth's own rotation and orbital stability may be affected, which may trigger a greater cosmic ecological crisis.
As the "group pet" in the solar system, the earth has an inseparable connection and interaction with the moon, the sun and other celestial bodies.
Scientists have also explored the laws and relationships of the overall ecological balance of the solar system and the universe, which will also promote mankind's deeper exploration of the universe and life on earth.