How long would it take for the earth to fail in sustaining life if the moon were destroyed?

Question

I believe the world would start spinning off axis but not sure of the time frame and what exactly would happen / series of events...

Answer 1

I don't think anyone has done the math to figure out how quickly it would happen but with out the moon the Earth's rotation on it's axis would not be stable where it is now. If that got out of wack we would have some serious weather problems. It's the tilt of the Earth not the distance from the sun that makes the difference between summer and winter. So if that wobble that has the the northern hemisphere facing the sun in the summer and leaning away at 23 some degrees in the winter was screwed up we'd probably all die. There's a good move called, odly enough< If we Had no Moon. It's from the discovery channel, and you can buy it or just check their TV schedule, it comes on once or twice a year.

Answer 2

Life on Earth does not strictly depend on the moon being their, but the mix of life that has evolved does.

For instance, the moon causes tides, so all coastal plants and animals would be affected. The moon is the main source of light at night, so all nocturnal animals would be affected.

As a result, there would probably be mass extinctions, and new species would evolve to be adapted to the new circumstances.

Answer 3

Actually, as long as the Earth wasn't pelted with debris from a destroyed moon, life would pretty much go on as normal. There wouldn't be tides any more. It'd probably cause the extinction of some species that depend on the tides for survival, maybe some species of clams, and disrupt or cause to go extinct some species that depend on the moon for navigation, but mostly things would go on as normal. There'd be changes, but things would adjust.

Answer 4

The moon stabilizes the nutation of the Earth axis and by potential of accomplish that keeps the Earth's climate extremely stable over very long classes in assessment to fashions the place there is not any moon. subsequently interior the quick term no interior the long term definite.

Answer 5

The earth won't spin out of axis but the occurance of tides would be affected which could cause serious problems. Also pieces of moon could collide with the earth.

Answer 6

I think the answer should contain the current effect of the moon on life...isn't it?
so...
1_the earth will teeter in the space because it is (now) in dueto with the moon , and they have the same spinning axis,tough its location is in the body of earth....it may not so fast ,but will shift gradually.
2_it's known that the moon gravity affects on the ground or surface of eart by a way that PULLS it up around 50 cm,but the question is: how does this affects on the life of plants,grass?
if there is ,certainly it does on animals.....
3_tide(which is caused by moon) causes waves(with wind also)
so ,when we miss tide>>waves..less Oxygen will be deluted in the Ocean water...>>death for creatures in water even slowly...
4_earth will not be a suitable place for ROMANCE ,not for flirting females...we'll miss pleasure of seeing ghastly moon face ,and the dark profile of our darlings in the light of the moon

Answer 7

It would depend on how the moon is destroyed... it may have an effect on the orbit around the sun, causing us to become closer or further from the sun.

We would still be in orbit around the sun, and life would still exist, however the effect on that life may be irreversable.

My question is how would you destroy the moon?

Answer 8

3 days

Answer 9

I don't know what would happen, or how long life would be sustained without our moon, but there would be a hell of a blue-light special at K-Mart for Tsunami Survival Kits.

Answer 10

Well that depends what would cause the moon to be destroyed. So long as that something wont send it hurtling towards us we should be fine. There will of course be an affect on our planet, but it shouldn't be anything that catastophic.