It's quite an interesting question to ponder about what would happen if the moon exploded or vanished. There are some consequences humans would see changes, not to mention, experience on this planet if this happened.
Essentially, a Knowledgeneed report specified, the moon is not only an amazing face to stare up at night. The moon, which orbits the Earth, is the cause of tides, atmosphere, climate, and axis of Earth.
In terms of impacts on humans and animals, first, they would experience that nighttime would be darker than ever before.
This is because the moon is brightening up the sky during the night by reflecting the light of the sun. Minus the moonlight, a site that does not have any artificial light would turn more dangerous to travel.
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Impact of Moon Explosion on Animals and the Environment
According to research published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, some animals are using vision as their main mode of interacting with the world is benefiting from the presence of the moon.
It is not a surprising fact, although a lot of predators such as bats, owls, and particularly wild cats like lions, jaguars, and tigers would need to experience problems searching for food.
Even though they have six times sharper compared to humans at night, these animals still need moonlight. Certainly, the Moon is the nearest celestial body to Earth.
Moreover, even though it does not have stronger gravity than this planet, its gravity force is robust enough to pull the oceans back and forth, also known as "Tides." Smaller tides are explained on The Nine Planets website.
Effect on Ecosystems
According to Matt Siegler from NASA, without the moon, tides would not stop moving totally since the gravitational force of the Sun also impacts the oceans, although not too strongly as Moon, since the Sun is roughly 147.14 million kilometers away from this planet while Moon is just 384,000 kilometers away.
The nearly two-thirds decline in tides will highly impact ecosystems, the flow of water, energy, minerals, as well as many other essential resources.
Different from land, the while ecosystem exists in the ocean between high and low tides, and a lot of species such as mussels, sea stars, crabs, snails, algae, barnacles, and kelp are reliant on the tide's daily coming and going.
University of Colorado researcher Jack Burn said the movements of tides are helping in driving ocean currents, contributing to the worldwide weather. Therefore, minus tides, the regional temperature would be quite more extreme.
The Moon's Gravitational Force
The gravitational force of the Moon is the reason for the movement of the molecules in the atmosphere. Burn also said that any planet beyond the solar system needs to have a good-sized Moon in order to achieve a weather system like Earth.
Siegler explained humans are lucky to have a moon. He added, without it, researchers will lose scientific data and sources of information.
Lastly, without the moon, the axis of Earth would perhaps, shift radically over time, and in just a few hundred years, the Earth will experience ice age, he continued explaining.
Related information about what to happen if the Moon exploded is shown on What If's YouTube video below:
Check out more news and information on Moon in Science Times.
