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OmniPollicis t1_ja07z8p wrote

“Don’t be silly, of COURSE I want to hang out, I’ve just been so busy lately.. maybe next mo- err year..”

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Fl1925 t1_ja08muz wrote

It hates us and has been trying for years to getaway!

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fleranon t1_ja0bvvx wrote

What are the implications of this? Will the moon leave the earths gravitational Field at some point in the next few million (billion?) years and fly out into space as a rogue planet or something?

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Butllet t1_ja0by5b wrote

Is there a point where our gravity does not affect it anymore? I wonder how long till it hits that point...

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wwarnout t1_ja0c0ta wrote

Fun fact: When the moon first formed, it was only about 40,000 km from Earth (about the same as geosync satellites), and was enormous in the sky. Also, one day on Earth was only about 6 hours long.

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ExtonGuy t1_ja0cp2w wrote

Sorry, but not true. The moon's distance increases by that amount only on average. Some years a lot less, even getting closer. Some years a lot more. Moreover, not true on long time scales, a few ten's of thousands of years.

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ExtonGuy t1_ja0d00n wrote

Replying to fleranon (#2,006,034)

No, the moon will not leave the Earth. The rate of increase gets less and less over time. Eventually, the distance will stabilize -- except that is so long in the future, the sun will expand and engulf the Earth and the moon together.

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cannabisized t1_ja0d1gy wrote

I love you but I'm not IN love with you....

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D3vilUkn0w t1_ja0dkz9 wrote

So it's a little over six feet further away than when the first Apollo missions flew

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FrankieMint t1_ja0dq55 wrote

When the moon recedes far enough from earth, total solar eclipses will no longer be possible (a billion or so years from now.)

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AirborneRodent t1_ja0if6q wrote

Replying to Butllet (#2,006,045)

No. The reason it's happening is that Earth's rotation is faster than the Moon's orbit - a day is shorter than a month.

Because of this, the Moon is leeching kinetic energy from Earth's rotation to orbit faster (drifting further away is simply a consequence of orbiting faster). This speeds up the Moon's orbit at the cost of slowing the Earth's rotation. Over time this energy-leeching will stabilize once the Moon has sped up so much, and the Earth has slowed down so much, that the Moon's orbit and the Earth's rotation will take the exact same amount of time - a day will be equal to a month - and the Moon will appear motionless in the sky. This is called tidal locking.

But as other comments have stated, this process will take so long that the Sun will kill us all long before it finishes.

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drygnfyre t1_ja0lkbw wrote

Replying to fleranon (#2,006,034)

That would be theoretically possible. However, the Sun will reach its red supergiant phase and engulf the inner planets long before the Moon could escape.

Which also provides the literal answer to "when will the world end?" When the Sun feels like it, that's when.

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gamerdude69 t1_ja0n1nj wrote

Sigh, this unfortunately means that the longer we wait to return to the moon, the harder it will be.

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AnthillOmbudsman t1_ja0ovul wrote

Imagine being the poor guy who has to go out there every year with the tape measure to figure this out.

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ol_knucks t1_ja0pr9p wrote

OP your mixing of commas and decimals in the title is pure anarchy you mad lad

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Limp_Distribution t1_ja0qdgb wrote

It used to be much closer. What an awesome sight that must have been seeing it so close.

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todd10k t1_ja0wwx7 wrote

This is true, the moon is on an escape trajectory away from the me. One day, my friend will leave for good and head out into deep space, or make friends with one of the other, cooler planets (literally).

Until that day, luna, we shall waltz through the cosmos like lovers in springtime.

-Earth

0

GroinShotz t1_ja0y9or wrote

Eventually, it will reach a point where it slowly starts coming back... If the Sun lasts that long.

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GroinShotz t1_ja0yr18 wrote

Replying to fleranon (#2,006,034)

One theory states that the moon will eventually slowly creep back towards us eventually becoming a ring (like Saturn's rings)... If the Sun doesn't engulf us by then.

>Eventually, Earth’s rotation will slow until it, too, is locked to the moon’s orbital period. At this point, Earth will still be rotating faster than it orbits the sun and the smaller tidal bulge due to the sun’s gravity will continue to slow Earth’s rotation.

>Earth’s tidal bulge will then begin to lag the moon’s orbital motion, the pull will be acting in reverse and the moon will slowly start to spiral back towards the Earth.

>The moon will move ever closer until it reaches 18,470 km (11,470 miles) above the Earth, a point known as the Roche limit. This is the radius inside which the tidal forces pulling objects apart exceed their mutual attraction due to gravity.

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GeneDangle t1_ja0zmgt wrote

Same way I distance myself from my Republican family members

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cobobbyjoe t1_ja0zxr3 wrote

The moon just needs a little space.

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darrellbear t1_ja1c41k wrote

Conservation of angular momentum--the moon's tidal effects on Earth are transferring the Earth's angular momentum to the moon. The moon speeds up as a result, which causes its orbital distance from Earth to increase over time. The Earth's loss of angular momentum causes it to spin on its axis more slowly, increasing the length of day over time. Total energy of the system is conserved.

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jippyzippylippy t1_ja1q7ca wrote

12 feet every 100 years.

So, it looked slightly larger 200 years ago.

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monkeypox_69 t1_ja267rt wrote

Eventually we will lose the moon.. not in our lifetime.

0

Adventurous_Light_85 t1_ja2kuqp wrote

It’s either because the earth is losing mass or the moon is gaining mass

1

neo101b t1_ja2lk30 wrote

The moon will one day leave the earth, though I think before that happens the sun will get us first.

1

Seahawk124 t1_ja2rx6t wrote

It knows we got some nasty shit down here and doesn't want it either!

1

Proof_Principle8696 t1_ja3eh52 wrote

Just enough space to turn over in bed without losing the blanket or warmth.

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spook488 t1_ja3vq17 wrote

It's like it knows something is about to happen and it wants to get as far away as possible.

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sevencoves t1_ja43sp5 wrote

It like the slowest backing out of a room ever

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SucreBrun t1_ja45g7d wrote

Since I'm in my 50s and 6ft (1.83m), if I lie down today, the moon will be the same distance as when I was 16 and standing up. Cool!

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faxanaduu t1_ja4t8dw wrote

Replying to Youpunyhumans (#2,019,267)

I guess they use the same points on the surface measuring this between length of time? Seems necessary because of changes in elevation. It's so interesting to me that it's moving away from the earth. On the scale of billions of years the distance between them seems like it has changed quite s bit. Thanks for posting this tidbit, learned something new today.

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Jibber_Fight t1_ja4vd0j wrote

Which is pretty much a nothing-fact. It’s taken 65 million years to move a couple thousand miles away. And it’s already like 240000 miles away. It would barely be perceptively bigger in the sky back then. But still interesting! Don’t leave us moon! We love you!!

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LuxInteriot t1_ja7zmqw wrote

So it takes a mere billion years for it to move 38,000 km, 10% of the current distance.

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ChickenMom90 t1_jab144a wrote

I knew about this. I think I was watching a sci fi show where people were sent back to live in prehistoric times, and the moon was quite a bit bigger. The problem becomes what happens when the moon escapes earth's gravitational field. I believe I read somewhere that the pull of the moon on the earth's core is important. Someone clear this up if I'm wrong.

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