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Like say,
if the moon was hit by a large meteor that smashed it in half,
what would happen to us on earth?

2006-12-08 04:34:39 · 20 answers · asked by AJ m 1 in Science & Mathematics Astronomy & Space

20 answers

thared be no more warewolfs

2006-12-08 04:36:16 · answer #1 · answered by dirtydeathgutter 3 · 3 1

What do you mean by "smash it in half"?

If the hit is barely enough for the Moon to break off in two pieces and the pieces remain in orbit around Earth, then not much would happen at first. The two pieces would still have, in total, the same mass as the Moon had, and, at first, their centre of gravity would still be where the Moon would have been.

If the energy is insufficient for the two pieces to move apart rapidly, they could get together again, and we'd have one Moon again (although it may look very different).

If the energy is sufficient for them to move apart, then:
1) the tidal bulges on Earth's oceans would split (instead of having 2 tidal bulges cause by the Moon, we'd have two smaller bulges for each of the two pieces -- I'd hate to be the one having to recalculate the tide tables)
2) we'd have to worry about the new orbits of the pieces. If the two pieces drift apart, it means that the speed at which they are separating is more than the escape velocity of each piece, one going one way, the other half going the other way. SInce the escape velocity of the Moon is 2.4 km/s and the Moon's present orbital speed is only 1 km/s, this could mean that the two halves could be on any orbit, including orbits that collide with Earth's surface.

However, it is unlikely that there'd be a clean break. There would be lots of chunks of various sizes, some of them large enough to really, really make it a bad day for us.

2006-12-08 06:32:32 · answer #2 · answered by Raymond 7 · 0 0

If the moon was hit by a meteor, the impact on earth will be very catastrophic. The moon holds us steady, so to speak. Wait, here are some expert opinions .. Please read on. I searched for scientific benefits of the pretty single moon of our planet
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The real answer is that we would almost certainly not have evolved without the moon; experts give these main reasons

1.The stability of the earth's rotational axis---it always remains nearly 23 degrees---is due partly to the Moon's presence; without it, the Earth's axis would wobble much more violently, so that seasons would be far more severe. [This wobble would occur over thousands to hundreds of thousands of years, but that might have been enough to affect evolution dramatically.] We could even from time to time orbit on our backs like the planet Uranus!
2.The length of the day might have been much shorter.
3.There would be greatly reduced ocean tides or tidal reaches so that the development of much of marine life, and certainly the development of Amphibia and the settlement of Dry Land, would have been greatly affected, perhaps prevented.

As for the present, our civilization might find it hard to adapt to a sudden withdrawal of the Moon, but could learn to cope with a slow drifting away---which is in fact occurring at a rate of about 3 cm/year

2006-12-08 04:53:49 · answer #3 · answered by QuiteNewHere 7 · 1 0

all life on earth would perish, climatic changes alone would kill us not to mention the fact that we could smash into an asteroid or a planet.
Something will happen to the Moon, it is going away from us, and eventually we will no longer be influenced by it, so we would not be stable anymore on our axis.
In the 70s scientists proposed that when the time comes we should "steal" another Moon (they proposed Europa since it's very similar to Earth) and place it in orbit around us....preposterous right? well we strongly believed at one point that the earth was flat so....you never know. we are resilient little buggers.

2006-12-08 20:54:36 · answer #4 · answered by Scooby 6 · 0 0

the final day of the mayan calendar is in dec 2012. Being that this calendar is written on an extremely misterious pyramid from an extremely mysetious people provide it some glory. additionally, there have been many predictions on the calendar of galactical events that got here real. there's a prediction for the ideal day that involes an alignment of our galaxy to a various area of the universe. The clock is stricking 12 lower back so which you're able to communicate by using fact the mayans could have believed it. additionally, bear in mind that it says no longer something approximately end. it certainly is plenty extra in all possibility the daybreak of a clean age. no longer the top of the international

2016-12-30 03:37:57 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 0 0

1. The day would be eight hours long.
2. The winds would be much stronger.
3. Complex life might not exist yet.
4. When life did arrive, it would have a different biology.

and more over... moon with its craters etc is proof of how many metorites it has taken on to save earth

2006-12-08 04:38:23 · answer #6 · answered by rocks_life 4 · 0 0

There would be a gravitational change. If the earth was to change its orbit enough to change the conditions of the planet, then we will all die. The planet will be fine, it will just keep on going around the sun.

2006-12-08 04:37:22 · answer #7 · answered by jasonheavilin 3 · 0 0

We'd be in a heck of a mess. For one thing, there wouldn't be anything to regulate our tides--the moon's gravity does that.

2006-12-08 04:39:17 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

I would go crazy i live by the moon.

2006-12-08 04:36:09 · answer #9 · answered by Lindsay 4 · 0 0

i think it would be the end of the world because that would cause a major gravitational shift on our atmoshpere it would cause really huge tides and other crazy ****.

2006-12-08 04:38:01 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

we probably die from the moon smashing into us

2006-12-08 04:36:23 · answer #11 · answered by bgbadwolf27 3 · 2 0

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