Is the moon important to life on earth?
Facts
Importance
keeps the earth in balance
moon and earth pulling each other
gravity
is about 250 000 miles away (1/4 million miles away)
creates tides
2 tides a day low and high
moon is a ball of rock in space
relationship between distance of the moon and the height of the tides
keeps the moon in orbit around the earth
Apollo landings 1969 Neil Armstrong (check date)
moon formation
formed 41/2 billion years ago
planet the size of Mars crashed into the earth
moon created
ball of burning molten rock
14 000 miles away
earth constantly hit by asteroids
rotation and orbit
moon
has a dark side
2006 lunar standstill
next one i n 2024
barely rises then appears to drop
the dark side has more crators than the one facing earth
has a strong effect on animals
humans - act wilder?
the Transylvanian effect
animals become more vocal and active
become more fertile/productive
Brain coral grow an extra layer every 29 days
tropical coral spawned together once a year triggered by the moon
known about for over 5000 years - stone circles in scotland
if 20 times closer, tides 400 times higher
impact released iron from the earths core
the iron reacted with the atmosphere to form new chemicals which became the building blocks of life on earth
over the next 700 000 000 years the earth cooled and the water vapour in the air condensed to form the seas
orbits the earth every 29 days
this is why we only see one face of the moon
rotates slowly once every 29 days
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moon is spiralling outwards
because the spin is speeding up
the closer the moon the faster the earth spins
the further way the moon, the slower the earth spins
moon acts as a break pulling on the ocean's bulge - friction