The Earth and the Moon have been companions for a long, long time. But that wasn’t always the case. According to the giant impact theory, around 4.5 billion years ago, a small planet slammed into the young Earth, resulting in our planet ejecting a lot of debris into orbit around the Earth, which slowly coalesced into the Moon. And amazingly, it turns out that after such a long term companionship, the Moon might not be with the Earth forever either. Yes, the terrifying fact is that the Moon is drifting away from the Earth. And if that happens, life on Earth might collapse entirely. Read on to know why the Moon is drifting away and how that can impact us.

The Moon is drifting away from the Earth at the speed of 3.8 centimeters a year. We first found out about it in 1969 during the NASA Apollo missions when some scientists noticed something strange about the reflective panels installed on the Moon. And thus, it was revealed that the Moon was indeed moving away. Later studies have given us conclusive evidence that this is not a recent phenomenon and has always been the case.

Why the Moon is drifting away from the Earth

The reason the Moon rotates around the Earth is because it has been pulled by our planet’s strong gravitational force. But at the same time, the Moon itself pulls the Earth due to its own gravitational field. Because of this pull by the Moon, the tidal waves rise, and the Moon gets a kick-back effect, similar to the recoil of a gun. This is the reason the Moon is drifting away.

How can this affect the Earth

One of the biggest and most immediate effects of the Moon drifting away from the Earth is that the length of the day will get longer. The Moon, due to its gravitational effect, makes the Earth spin fast. According to a report by The Conversation, 2.45 billion years ago, the length of a day on Earth was just 16.9 hours. As the Moon moves away we will see longer than 24 hours for a day. But this is far from the worst thing that will happen to Earth.

One of the biggest impacts would be on tidal waves. While oceans will still retain some movement due to the gravitational force of the Sun, it will be very weak and minimal. Most of the cold and warm currents of the ocean would cease to exist, resulting in the death of a large number of aquatic species. The coastal region will also change drastically.

The worst impact would be on the seasons of Earth. Our planet leans at an angle of 23.5 degrees because the Moon has locked it into that alignment. It is because of this alignment that the Earth has generally stable seasons and the polar regions are cold. However, if the Moon moves away, the Earth would be a wobbling body, constantly being pushed and pulled by different planets and celestial bodies which would tremendously make the seasons and living conditions inhospitable for life.