What Would Happen If The Moon Disappeared?

If the moon was smashed to bits by a huge object, say a meteor, the earth would face an immediate threat from the space debris. The chunks of rock that used to be the moon would be drawn to Earth due to gravity.

The moon acts like Earth’s shield against meteorites. Without the moon, we would be more prone to deadly space debris. Luckily, most of the small debris would burn up in the mesosphere layer of our atmosphere (53 miles or 85 km above the surface of the earth). However, the bigger chunks of rock may pass through the mesosphere and, depending on the size, could cause serious damage. For instance, anything between 25 meters and 45 meters in length (82 feet to 147 feet) could destroy a city, and anything longer than 140 meters (460 feet) could destroy a continent.

But let’s assume that the moon just vanished, no meteors involved, causing no immediate threat to our planet. The subliminal effects of a missing moon would create some important changes to the earth.

The ocean tides on the earth’s surface would be much calmer with no moon to pull at the water, although, the sun’s gravity would still cause some waves. Without the moon’s gravity, there would not be tidal bulges where the moon’s gravity causes the oceans to bulge in the direction of the moon. This would cause all the coastlines in the world to be at the same level leading to mass extinction of marine life.

Speaking of natural disasters, the earth would experience more earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis as the earth adjusts itself to the new normal.

Let’s move on to climate. The seasons would go haywire with no moon. With no moon, the tilt of Earth’s axis would change resulting in harsher climates.

Without the moon, days on earth would be shorter. Why? The moon’s pull on Earth’s ocean creates a phenomenon known as “tidal friction.” Tidal friction slows down the rotation of our planet. Needless to say, without the moon there would be little to no tidal friction, causing Earth’s days to be shorter.

The moon reflects light from the sun. If the moon disappeared, it would become so dark in the night that you wouldn’t even be able to see your hands in front of you.

On the flip-side, astrologers and stargazers would have an easier time observing, charting, and recording patterns of extraterrestrial objects without a huge bright object in the way. To everyone else, the moonless night sky would provide an amazing view.