The Moon is Shrinking

Astronomers beleive that the moon is shrinking.
latest findings show that the moon is still cooling.
more here The Guardian - moon shrinking

i wonder what impacts this could have on earth and our oceans in the long run, what will life be like with a small moon.

please tell us what your thoughts are on this.

[edit on 19-8-2010 by listerofsmeg]

Its moving away, not shrinking.

reply to post by listerofsmeg


Tidal Waves

the moons a terra formed satalite looking after sumthing -us ? duno but why havent they been back in 30 years

reply to post by Mythic Chris


did u read the link:

This link right here

the core used to be hot but because of cooling it has contracted.

if it's shrinking due to cooling, then it's not losing any mass, thus it will still have the same affect on Earth. As another poster above stated, the moon is inching away from Earth, but the effect of that is negligible.

reply to post by Aggie Man


i agree that the moons mass will not change the distribution of mass will. im sure this will have some effects that we don't realize yet.

reply to post by listerofsmeg

i agree that the moons mass will not change the distribution of mass will. im sure this will have some effects that we don't realize yet.

I'm sure you are right, and TPTB will soon enough get in touch with their scientists and work out a way to blame us, maybe its the heat rising from MMGW pushing the Moon away..

Anyways, they will tax us for it somehow

Rather than the moon physically shrinking, could it be due to solar-wind or other stellar causes that is distorting the shape of the magneto/atmos-phere to make the moon apper smaller?

Much in the same way the lens of your eye is stretched and distorted to maintain a certain near/far focal point?

I thought cold expands, and heat contracts....why is everyone saying its getting smaller because it is getting colder? Can someone explain this?

reply to post by aching_knuckles


water expends when freezing.
metal expands when hot.
the moon apparently has a moltern metal core much like earth


[edit on 19-8-2010 by listerofsmeg]

reply to post by citizen smith


i suppose it is possible as they only assume it's shrinking because of some wrinkles but other things could cause these.

reply to post by aching_knuckles


Check out power lines.
On a hot day they sag, on a cold day they pull tighter.

Thats why they don't install the lines tight.

Same goes for train tracks. They always leave a gap between rails but they still buckle sometimes in extreme heat..

Originally posted by satnav_c-1
the moons a terra formed satalite looking after sumthing -us ? duno but why havent they been back in 30 years

But it isn't terraformed..
I don't think you know exactly what terraformed means...

This confuses me.

How come the earth is said to not be able to be growing ( expanding earth type theory) when its possible that maybe our core is getting hotter over time? Maybe the heat radiation from the core is actually causing global warming and the earth to expand ( increase in earthquakes/volcanic activity)

If the moon can shrink the it would seem the earth could grow.

For some reason I always though the moon didn't have a core like the earth does and that's why it does what it does.

P.s. Phage be nice as you school me

[edit on 19-8-2010 by whoshotJR]

As much an amateur astronomer i am...who really cares. I mean, as humans, weve shown we cant even take care of eacother, let alone resorting to violence.
The moon controls the tides, as we all know. it is moving away form us. An old space magazine book i found that was my fathers, dated 1959, says the moon is moving away, and in about 800,000 years, earths gravity will pull it back in. Tidal forces with earth's gravity will break up and shatter the moon, therfore creating a ring* around earth.
I heard this same thing on discovery or history channel years ago. dunno how true it is.
The moral is..who really cares whats happens when the moon is so far away, we wont have tides anymore. we prob wont even survive as a species,t he rate we are going.

even though the moon is the major cause of tides.
the suns gravity also effects tides.
The gravitational attraction of the Sun on the Earth's oceans is almost half that of the Moon, and their gravitational interplay is responsible for spring and neap tides.

reply to post by listerofsmeg


Good post. I actually just read this in a Press Association release. The details are slightly different but the story is essentially the same.

The Moon May Be Shrinking

Thanks for posting.

Originally posted by ziggy1706
As much an amateur astronomer i am...who really cares. I mean, as humans, weve shown we cant even take care of eacother, let alone resorting to violence.
The moon controls the tides, as we all know. it is moving away form us. An old space magazine book i found that was my fathers, dated 1959, says the moon is moving away, and in about 800,000 years, earths gravity will pull it back in. Tidal forces with earth's gravity will break up and shatter the moon, therfore creating a ring* around earth.
I heard this same thing on discovery or history channel years ago. dunno how true it is.
The moral is..who really cares whats happens when the moon is so far away, we wont have tides anymore. we prob wont even survive as a species,t he rate we are going.

I don't view it as a doom and gloom thing I read it as something cool to think about and know. Maybe it has implications on formulas or theories that are out there and could help us understand our universe better.


palmgoon.com...

That link should sum it up for you if you don't want to read my text.

[edit on 19-8-2010 by whoshotJR]

The moon is currently moving away from us at about 1 1/2 inches per year. I would speculate that in the long run, the earth will be impacted first and foremost by the ever increasing distance between the two bodies.