How long before life on our planet becomes extinct?

Question

If the moon is moving away from planet Earth at a rate of one metre per year

Answer 1

You might want to double check your figures before you start any end-of-the-world rumors.

The Moon's orbit is indeed getting larger, at a rate of about 3.8 centimeters per year. Not one meter per year.

The reason for the increase is that the Moon raises tides on the Earth. Because the side of the Earth that faces the Moon is closer, it feels a stronger pull of gravity than the center of the Earth. Similarly, the part of the Earth facing away from the Moon feels less gravity than the center of the Earth. This effect stretches the Earth a bit, making it a little bit oblong. We call the parts that stick out "tidal bulges." The actual solid body of the Earth is distorted a few centimeters, but the most noticable effect is the tides raised on the ocean.

Mass exerts a gravitational force, and the tidal bulges on the Earth exert a gravitational pull on the Moon. Because the Earth rotates faster (24 hours) than the Moon orbits (27.3 days) the bulge tries to "speed up" the Moon, and pull it ahead in its orbit. The Moon is also pulling back on the tidal bulge of the Earth, slowing the Earth's rotation. Tidal friction, caused by the movement of the tidal bulge around the Earth, takes energy out of the Earth and puts it into the Moon's orbit, making the Moon's orbit bigger (but, a bit pardoxically, the Moon actually moves slower).

The Earth's rotation is also slowing down because of this. One hundred years from now, the day will be 2 milliseconds longer than it is now.

At the present rate, it would take 38,250,000 years just to get twice the distance. However, the rate would continually decrease since the tidal forces acting on the speed would diminish.

To further ease your fears, planets do not depend upon the existence of a moon or moons to support life.

Answer 2

The moon is receding slower than that.

Friction by the tides is slowing the earth’s rotation, so the length of a day is increasing by 0.002 seconds per century. This means that the earth is losing angular momentum.7 The Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum says that the angular momentum the earth loses must be gained by the moon. Thus the moon is slowly receding from Earth at about 4 cm (1½ inches) per year, and the rate would have been greater in the past. The moon could never have been closer than 18,400 km (11,500 miles), known as the Roche Limit, because Earth’s tidal forces (i.e., the result of different gravitational forces on different parts of the moon) would have shattered it. But even if the moon had started receding from being in contact with the earth, it would have taken only 1.37 billion years to reach its present distance.8 NB: this is the maximum possible age — far too young for evolution (and much younger than the radiometric ‘dates’ assigned to moon rocks) — not the actual age.
http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/764

I shouldn't worry about life becoming extinct.

Answer 3

The moon probably has nothing to do with it. Current scientific thinking is that the sun is about 5 billion years old and that it has about another 5 billion years to go at which point it will go supernova and the resulting explosion will destroy this planet and most of the other planets in the solar system.
On the other hand we may be hit by a large meteor much earlier than that and then we will probably go the same way as the dinosaurs.

Answer 4

"Life" is almost impossible to destroy completely.

There are living organisms in almost any place on earth you can imagine, including deep within seemingly solid rock. The living things that you see are only a fraction of the life on earth - many, many living things are too small to be seen without microscopes. And, like I said above, it is almost impossible to kill these invisible organisms off in the natural environment.

I expect that life here will become extinct only when the planet itself is destroyed when the sun dies, and that will be about 5 billion years from now - that is something like 70,000,000 human lifetimes from now.

As for the moon, well, it has essentially no impact on the presence of life on earth. If it disappeared tomorrow, most living species would be utterly unaffected. Even the species that depend on the moon - say for light for nocturnal navigation - might well adapt quickly to its absence.

Answer 5

It is reckoned that planet earth will be able to support life (not necessarily as we know it), for many millions of years. Mind you I don't think the moon has anything to do with it.

Answer 6

billions of years. however, at the rate you humans user your resources and pollute your atmosphere, you will be extinct within a couple of centuries. I was brought here by accident. You people havn't even worked out how to travel close to the speed of light.
:-(. Want my advice? Build yourself a rocketship and get yourself off this wretched planet.

P.S - Einstein theory of relativity is wrong.

Answer 7

At least a billion years into the future at that rate!.

Answer 8

"life " is different from "existant", i give the earth a few 100 years, humans inbetween 40-60

Answer 9

Heard of the 4 minute warning have you?

Answer 10

I will be dead(and I am sure you will be to why do you care?)


About a billion years