The beautiful and mysterious Moon excited the minds of ancient thinkers long before the advent of modern astronomy. Legends formed about her, she was glorified by storytellers. At the same time, many features of the behavior of the night luminary were noticed. Even then, people began to understand what the influence of the moon on the earth is expressed in. In many ways, for ancient scientists, it was manifested in the management of certain aspects of the behavior of people and animals, the impact on magic rituals. However, the moon and its influence were considered not only from the point of view of astrology. So, already in the period of Antiquity, the relationship of the lunar cycle and tides was noticed. Today, science knows about the effects of the night luminary on our planet almost everything.
General information
The moon is a natural satellite of the Earth. It is 384 kilometers away from our planet. Moreover, the night luminary is drawn in a slightly elongated orbit, and therefore at different times the indicated figure decreases slightly or increases. The moon makes one revolution around the Earth in about 27.3 days. Moreover, the full cycle (from the full moon to the new full moon) takes a little more than 29.5 days. This discrepancy has an interesting consequence: there are months when the full moon can be admired not once, but twice.
Perhaps everyone knows that the night luminary always looks at the Earth with only one of its sides. The reverse side of the moon has long been inaccessible to study. The rapid development of astronautics in the last century turned the tide. Now there are quite detailed maps of the entire lunar surface.
The Hidden Sun
The influence of the moon on the earth is noticeable in several natural phenomena. The most impressive of these is the solar eclipse. Now it’s hard enough to imagine the storm of emotions that this phenomenon caused in antiquity. The eclipse was explained by the death or temporary disappearance of the luminary due to the fault of evil deities. People believed that if you did not perform certain ritual actions, they might never see sunlight again.
Today, the mechanism of the phenomenon has been studied quite well. The moon, passing between the Sun and the Earth, blocks the path of light. Part of the planet falls into shadow, and its inhabitants can observe a more or less complete eclipse. Interestingly, not every satellite could do this. In order for us to periodically admire the total eclipse, certain proportions must be observed. Whether the moon had a different diameter, or position it a little further from us, and only partial eclipses of the daylight could be observed from Earth. However, there is every reason to believe that in the distant future one of these scenarios will be realized.
Earth and moon: mutual attraction
The satellite, according to scientists, is almost 4 cm away from the planet every year, that is, over time, the opportunity to see a total eclipse will disappear. However, this moment is still very far away.
What is the reason for the lunar "escape"? It lies in the features of the interaction of the night luminary and our planet. The influence of the moon on earth processes is primarily manifested in the tides. This phenomenon is the result of the action of gravitational attraction forces . Moreover, the tides arise not only on Earth. Our planet acts in the same way on the satellite.
Mechanism
The close proximity makes the influence of the moon on the Earth so noticeable. Naturally, that part of the planet that the satellite came closer to is more strongly attracted. If the Earth did not rotate around its axis, the tidal wave that had arisen moved from east to west, located exactly under the night luminary. The characteristic frequency of the tides arises due to the uneven effect on one or the other parts of the planet.
The rotation of the Earth causes the tidal wave to move from west to east and slightly ahead of the satellite. The entire thickness of the water running slightly ahead of the night luminary, in turn, affects it. As a result, the moon accelerates, its orbit changes. This is the reason for the removal of the satellite from our planet.
Some features of the phenomenon
Even before our era it was known that the "breath" of the ocean causes the moon. The ebbs and flows, however, underwent a particularly thorough study much later. Today it is well known that the phenomenon has a certain periodicity. Full water (the moment when the tide reaches its maximum) is separated from low water (the lowest level) for about 6 hours and 12.5 minutes. After passing the minimum point, a tidal wave begins to increase again. During the day or a little more, thus, there are two tides.
It has been observed that the tidal wave amplitude is variable. It is influenced by the phases of the moon. The amplitude reaches its greatest value in the full moon and new moon. The smallest value occurs in the first and last quarter.
Day length
The tidal wave generates not only the specific movement of ocean waters. The influence of the moon on earth processes does not end there. The resulting tidal wave is constantly met with the continents. As a result of the rotation of the planet and its interaction with the satellite, a force appears that is oppositely directed to the movement of the earth’s solid. The consequence of this is a slowdown in the rotation of the Earth around its axis. As you know, it is the duration of one revolution and is the standard for the duration of the day. With a slowdown in planet rotation, the length of the day increases. It grows quite slowly, but every few years the International Earth Rotation Service is forced to slightly change the standard with which all watches are checked.
Future
The Earth and the Moon have been affecting each other for about 4.5 billion years, that is, from the day they appeared (according to a number of scientists, the satellite and the planet were formed simultaneously). All this period, as now, the night star was moving away from the Earth, and our planet slowed down its rotation. However, a complete stop, as well as a final disappearance, is not expected. The slowdown of the planet will continue until its rotation is synchronized with the movement of the moon. In this case, our planet will turn to the satellite on one side and "freeze". The tidal waves that the Earth causes on the Moon have long led to a similar effect: the night star always looks at the planet with one eye. By the way, there are no oceans on the moon, but there are tidal waves: they form in the crust. The same processes occur on our planet. The waves in the crust are hardly noticeable in comparison with the movement in the ocean, and the effect of them is insignificant.
Related changes
When our planet synchronizes its motion with a satellite, the influence of the Moon on the Earth will be somewhat different. Tidal waves will continue to arise, but they will no longer overtake the night luminary. The wave will be located exactly under the “frozen” Moon and will follow it relentlessly. Then the increase in the distance between two space objects will stop.
Astrology
In addition to physical impact, the Moon is attributed the ability to influence the fate of people and states. Such beliefs have very deep roots, and the attitude towards them is a personal matter. However, there are a number of studies that indirectly confirm this effect of the night luminary. For example, the media mentioned data from analysts at an Australian bank. Based on their own research, they state the fact that the phases of the moon have a noticeable effect on the change in the indices of world financial markets. But the influence of the moon on fish in the process of a special study has not been confirmed. However, such scientific research requires careful verification.
We can hardly imagine our world without the moon. It certainly would not have the ebbs and flows, and perhaps life itself. According to one version, its occurrence on Earth became possible due to the specific effect of the moon, which leads to a slowdown of the planet’s rotation.
Studying the influence of a satellite on the Earth helps to understand the laws of the universe. The interactions characteristic of the Earth-Moon system are not specific. Similarly, the relations of all planets and their satellites are formed. An example of the future that may await the Earth and its companion is the Pluto-Charon system. They have long synchronized their movement. Both that and another are constantly turned to the "colleague" by the same party. A similar thing awaits the Earth with the Moon, but on condition that the other factors affecting the system are unchanged, however this is unlikely in an unpredictable space environment.