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What would happen to the earth....If i blow up the Moon?
46 Answers
I've always wanted to blow up the moon! Just wondering what the potential side effects would be of such an endeavour!
Obviously the tides would stop moving but what else would happen?
Cheers
Obviously the tides would stop moving but what else would happen?
Cheers
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Whilst not getting the answer desired can be annoying, I think a little humour is a good thing, and one out not react too outraged at getting it. A simple request for something more serious would have been wiser.
Aside from that I think most things have been covered. The potential of getting hit. That the Earth's would no longer have it's stabilising influence, might well wobble around a lot more. The likelihood of rings. Etc.
Aside from that I think most things have been covered. The potential of getting hit. That the Earth's would no longer have it's stabilising influence, might well wobble around a lot more. The likelihood of rings. Etc.
my question was meant to be a bit of fun with a serious scientific curiosity. What i got back were 6 answers before someone even attempted to answer the question! Anyways not worth fretting over. and for the person who was on about best answers?....sorry that means absolutely nothing to me? is it an insult? well done you if it is?
What's wrong with a bit of friendly banter?
You've already had some sensible answers. The nocturnal animals will go hungry and die out. Many plants rely on the moon to complete their life cycle. It will get a lot colder at night.
The tides support multitudes of animal species who rely on low tides for their food. The ocean currents will be seriously affected, this will probably mean devastation to the world's fish stock, including the aquatic mammals.
You've already had some sensible answers. The nocturnal animals will go hungry and die out. Many plants rely on the moon to complete their life cycle. It will get a lot colder at night.
The tides support multitudes of animal species who rely on low tides for their food. The ocean currents will be seriously affected, this will probably mean devastation to the world's fish stock, including the aquatic mammals.
-- answer removed --
I think that your question is very thought-stimulating, sherminator. Let's imagine just making the moon disappear rather than blowing it up.
Well, jake-the-peg is quite right about the common centre of gravity shifting and that would probably kill all life on earth and indeed shatter the earth itself just by the fact that it would move several hundred miles (just a guess) outside its angular momentum to the new centre in just a few hours. We'd all be squished!
Also due to the moon's gravity, the oceans bulge out toward the moon and there is an anti-bulge on the side away from the moon resulting in the tides. All the water in each bulge would suddenly be let go resulting in a tidal wave that would swamp the earth continuously for a very long time, probably years. That would mean extinction for us as well. As if that weren't enough the hot, internal magma of the earth also feels the gravity of the moon so the result would probably be smashed-up continents and lava flows everywhere as the magma did the same thing as the oceans.
Sherminator, please don't blow up the moon or make it disappear!
The ramifications of your interesting thought experiment have really set me thinking, so thanks for that. Whilst you were upset by the flippant answers, I have to say that albaqwerty's comment about the werewolves had me in stitches!
Regards
Peter Jameson
Well, jake-the-peg is quite right about the common centre of gravity shifting and that would probably kill all life on earth and indeed shatter the earth itself just by the fact that it would move several hundred miles (just a guess) outside its angular momentum to the new centre in just a few hours. We'd all be squished!
Also due to the moon's gravity, the oceans bulge out toward the moon and there is an anti-bulge on the side away from the moon resulting in the tides. All the water in each bulge would suddenly be let go resulting in a tidal wave that would swamp the earth continuously for a very long time, probably years. That would mean extinction for us as well. As if that weren't enough the hot, internal magma of the earth also feels the gravity of the moon so the result would probably be smashed-up continents and lava flows everywhere as the magma did the same thing as the oceans.
Sherminator, please don't blow up the moon or make it disappear!
The ramifications of your interesting thought experiment have really set me thinking, so thanks for that. Whilst you were upset by the flippant answers, I have to say that albaqwerty's comment about the werewolves had me in stitches!
Regards
Peter Jameson
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