Shocking fact: the moon is moving away from the earth!

It's a fact: the moon is moving away from Earth, but does this amount to the moon escaping (or escaping) from its orbit? Scientists investigate the possible causes of this event through our geological past and other methods. Find out how this will affect our planet.

The Moon's distance from our planet is imperceptible to the human eye.

If you think that the Moon orbits the Earth without changing its course and that it will continue to do so for thousands of years to come, today you will know that this is actually not true. Our natural satellite is gradually moving away from the planet, and we've been able to see this since 1969, when NASA installed reflective panels on the moon during the Apollo missions. Since then, laser beams have been released from Earth, enabling accurate determination of the annual rate at which the moon moves away from us.

The first scientist to notice this peculiarity was Edmund Halley nearly 300 years ago, who, after studying ancient eclipse records, was able to come to this conclusion. This decline is thought to be due to tidal friction in the oceans, which affects the speed of the Earth's rotation: by slowing it down, the resulting angular momentum loss (burst) is compensated for in the moon's acceleration, making it move further and farther away.

It has now been shown that the moon moves away from Earth at a rate of about 3.8 cm per year. Researchers at Utrecht University and the University of Geneva have implemented various methods to determine the moon's past. The decline of the moon has been studied several times: in addition to various theories, there are some new developments. The last signals are found in the layers of ancient rocks on Earth.

The relationship between sediments and Milankovic cycles

Scientists in Western Australia have found 2.5 billion years old geological evidence. In the sedimentary layers of the Karijini National Park, which had been deposited on the ocean floor and are now present in the earth's crust, regular periods of rocks of different thickness and shades have been identified. These differences in rock patterns may be associated with the "Milankovich cycles".

In addition to affecting Earth's climate over long periods of time, Milankovic cycles influence the moon's distance, specifically through the climate precession. The motion of the Earth, or the direction of the Earth's axis of rotation around itself, has changed over time. As the study shows, the role of this proactive motion is currently 21,000 years, but this period was shorter in the past when the moon was closer to Earth.

How does lunar distancing affect Earth?

First, as the Earth's rotation speed decreases, the days on Earth will become longer and longer. On the other hand, winters will be colder and summers hotter. Because of the low impact of the moon's gravity on the planet, the tides will not be as strong, however, they will still exist, albeit slightly, due to the influence of the sun.

NASA says sea level rise due to climate change, coupled with the impact of the lunar nodal cycle, will cause a significant increase in the amount of flooding by 2030.

One thing is certain: you don't have to worry about the moon's absence, because it will never escape Earth's gravity. At a certain point, the Moon and Earth will reach equilibrium and the Moon will stop moving away.