The Moon Is Moving Away From Earth – The Reason Will Blow Your Mind
Amazing Facts : The Moon Is Moving Away From Earth Every Year
The night sky might seem peaceful and unchanging, but the Moon is actually moving away from the Earth, by about 3.8 cm every year. This is about the same speed as fingernail growth! This drift might seem insignificant, but this process is measurable.
How Scientists Measure the Moon’s Distance
This is not a random guess. There is scientific evidence supporting this claim. The Apollo astronauts placed special reflectors on the Moon. These reflectors allowed scientists to send lasers to the Moon and measure the time taken for the light to return. This is one of the many Moon distance experiments and, to this day, they claim that the Moon is getting farther from the Earth.
Why Is the Moon Drifting Away?
The scientific answer is “tidal forces.” The Moon’s gravity creates tides on Earth. The Earth’s faster rotation causes the tidal bulges to be slightly ahead of the Moon and, as a result, the Earth’s rotation is slowed down. Thus, the Moon’s slow drift is a result of the tidal forces.
How This Affects Earth
Each day, we lose a tiny fraction of the time we take to complete a day, and for our planet, that is 1.7 milliseconds per century. Earth days were noticeably shorter during the age of the dinosaurs and went by in a little under 23 hours.
This is the result of the multibillion-year shifting of lunar orbits, and the clock doesn’t change, as it will continue for a long time to come. Eventually, the Earth and the Moon will be tidally locked, and both will rotate in synch.
A Cosmic Reminder
The Moon slowly drifting away from the Earth is a quiet but powerful reminder of how the tiniest of movements can change the fate of our planet! Next time you see the Moon, think of how it is inching away, altering the Earth in ways we can hardly notice!
References
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Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum – Measuring the Moon’s Distance
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BBC Science Focus – Why the Moon is drifting away from Earth
