1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,759 Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Lauren Vogelbauma, host of the new house Stuff 2 00:00:02,759 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 1: Works Now podcast. Every week, I'll be bringing you three 3 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: stories from our team about the weird and wondrous developments 4 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 1: we've seen in science, technology, and culture. Fresh episodes will 5 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: be out every Monday on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, 6 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: and everywhere else that fine podcasts are found. Welcome to 7 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: brain Stuff from how Stuff Works. Oh hey, there, brain Stuff. 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: It's Christian Seger and it is time you and I 9 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:35,640 Speaker 1: had to talk about the Moon. I know we haven't 10 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: been there in a while, but it is pretty rad. 11 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,919 Speaker 1: I mean, we think that about four point five billion 12 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,600 Speaker 1: years ago, something the size of Mars crashed into Earth 13 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: and ricocheted into space to form the Moon. It even 14 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: took some of Earth's mantle with it, so there's ancient 15 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 1: chunks of our planet merged with space stuff up there 16 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: just hanging out in orbit. But even with all that, 17 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: I'm not sure the Moon gets all the credit it deserves. 18 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: If it wasn't there, things would be a lot different 19 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: here on our little blue planet. First, we'd see some 20 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:12,559 Speaker 1: pretty dramatic changes to the ocean. The Moon is responsible 21 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 1: for most of the effects of tides without it, the 22 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: tides would only be a third of the size that 23 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 1: they are now. This is because the Sun would account 24 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:24,320 Speaker 1: for the major gravitational pull affecting the altitude of the ocean. 25 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 1: And while the Sun is way bigger than the Moon, 26 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:31,560 Speaker 1: like like four times bigger, it is also much further away, 27 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,840 Speaker 1: so the tides it creates only have about of the 28 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: strength of our current lunar tides. Surfing wouldn't be the 29 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: only thing that suffered. Lots of ecosystems rely on the 30 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: motion and changes of the tides to sustain them. Plus, 31 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: the Moon holds a bulge of tidal water around Earth's 32 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: middle that would disperse without its gravity, changing coastlines around 33 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: the world. Also, did you know that the Moon helps 34 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 1: slow down the rotation of Earth yep. Without it, we 35 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: wouldn't have twenty four hour days. They'd be more like 36 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: six to eight hours long. We'd have to remake our 37 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:12,800 Speaker 1: calendar to accommodate between eleven hundred and fourteen hundred days 38 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,640 Speaker 1: per year. Not only would that screw up all of 39 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:19,960 Speaker 1: our schedules, but a faster rotation would also increase the 40 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: amount of wind and storms on our planet. If that's 41 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 1: not extreme climate change enough, for you. No moon would 42 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:32,240 Speaker 1: also destabilize the Earth's access unpredictably, changing our tilt with 43 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: side effects that would render the planet inhospitable to lots 44 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:38,959 Speaker 1: of its creatures. Right now, we're tilted at a lovely 45 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: twenty three degrees, which gives us relatively mild seasons and environments, 46 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: but the Moon acts as an external force that stabilizes 47 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: that angle. Without it, we could wobble anywhere between zero 48 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:56,040 Speaker 1: degrees with no seasons and barely any sunlight to eighty 49 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:58,919 Speaker 1: five degrees, where the planet would fall over on its 50 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: side like a kitten on a cat nip pieh Mars, 51 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: for example, wobbles only fifteen and thirty five degrees, and 52 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: it experiences drastic climate changes where ice drifts all the 53 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,679 Speaker 1: way from its poles to its equator. Finally, Gang, I 54 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: don't know if you've noticed, but the moon's pretty darn 55 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: bright up there in the middle of the night. Sure, 56 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: the sun is four hundred thousand times brighter, but sometimes 57 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: it still hits your eye, you know, like like like 58 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,120 Speaker 1: a big pizza pie, which means that without it, our 59 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: knights would be a lot darker than we're used to. Try. 60 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: Stumbling around in the woods without a moon and see 61 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: how you like it. Check out the brain stuff channel 62 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: on YouTube, and for more on this and thousands of 63 00:03:43,600 --> 00:04:00,000 Speaker 1: other topics, visit how stuff works dot com.