WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: What If the Moon Disappeared?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, I'm Lauren Vogelbaum and this this is a

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<v Speaker 1>classic episode from former host Christian Sager. This one is

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<v Speaker 1>more of a thought experiment than practical science. Let's say

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<v Speaker 1>the Moon disappeared, not blew up or gradually drifted away,

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<v Speaker 1>just one day, vamped right out of existence. What would

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<v Speaker 1>happen here on Earth? Oh? Hey, there, brain Stuff, it's

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<v Speaker 1>Christian Sager, and it is time you and I had

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<v Speaker 1>to talk about the Moon. I know we haven't been

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<v Speaker 1>there in a while, but it is pretty rad. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>we think that about four point five billion years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>something the size of Mars crashed into Earth and ricocheted

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<v Speaker 1>into space to form the Moon. It even took some

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<v Speaker 1>of Earth's mantle with it, So there's ancient chunks of

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<v Speaker 1>our planet merged with space stuff up there just hanging

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<v Speaker 1>out in orbit. But even with all at I'm not

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<v Speaker 1>sure the Moon gets all the credit it deserves. If

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<v Speaker 1>it wasn't there, things would be a lot different here

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<v Speaker 1>on our little blue planet. First, we'd see some pretty

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<v Speaker 1>dramatic changes to the ocean. The Moon is responsible for

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<v Speaker 1>most of the effects of tides. Without it, the tides

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<v Speaker 1>would only be a third of the size that they

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<v Speaker 1>are now. This is because the Sun would account for

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<v Speaker 1>the major gravitational pull affecting the altitude of the ocean.

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<v Speaker 1>And while the Sun is way bigger than the Moon,

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<v Speaker 1>like like four times bigger, it is also much further away,

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<v Speaker 1>so the tides it creates only have about of the

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<v Speaker 1>strength of our current lunar tides. Surfing wouldn't be the

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<v Speaker 1>only thing that suffered. Lots of ecosystems rely on the

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<v Speaker 1>motion and changes of the tides to sustain them. Plus,

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<v Speaker 1>the Moon holds a bulge of tidal water around Earth's

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<v Speaker 1>middle that would disperse without its gravity, changing coastlines around

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<v Speaker 1>the world. Also, did you know that the Moon helps

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<v Speaker 1>slow down the rotation of Earth yep. Without it, we

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't have twenty four hour days. They'd be more like

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<v Speaker 1>six to eight hours long. We'd have to remake our

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<v Speaker 1>calendar to accommodate between eleven hundred and four hundred days

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<v Speaker 1>per year. Not only would that screw up all of

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<v Speaker 1>our schedules, but a faster rotation would also increase the

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<v Speaker 1>amount of wind and storms on our planet. If that's

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<v Speaker 1>not extreme climate change enough for you, No Moon would

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<v Speaker 1>also destabilize the Earth's access, unpredictably, changing our tilt with

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<v Speaker 1>side effects that would render the planet inhospitable to lots

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<v Speaker 1>of its creatures. Right now, we're tilted at a lovely

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<v Speaker 1>twenty three degrees, which gives us relatively mild seasons and environments,

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<v Speaker 1>but the Moon acts as an external force that stabilizes

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<v Speaker 1>that angle. Without it, we could wobble anywhere between zero

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<v Speaker 1>degrees with no seasons and barely any sunlight to eighty

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<v Speaker 1>five degrees, where the planet would fall over on its

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<v Speaker 1>side kitten on a cat nip pie. Mars, for example,

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<v Speaker 1>wobbles only fifteen and thirty five degrees, and it experiences

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<v Speaker 1>drastic climate changes where ice drifts all the way from

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<v Speaker 1>its poles to its equator. Finally, Gang, I don't know

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<v Speaker 1>if you've noticed, but the moon's pretty darn bright up

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<v Speaker 1>there in the middle of the night. Sure, the sun

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<v Speaker 1>is four hundred thousand times brighter, but sometimes it's still

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<v Speaker 1>hits your eye, you know, like like like a big

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<v Speaker 1>pizza pie, which means that without it, our nights would

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<v Speaker 1>be a lot darker than we're used to. Try stumbling

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<v Speaker 1>around in the woods without a moon and see how

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<v Speaker 1>you like it. Today's episode was written by Christian and

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<v Speaker 1>produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production of I

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio's Has Stuff Works. For more on that and

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<v Speaker 1>lots of other topics that will hit your eye, visit

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<v Speaker 1>our home planet how Stuff Works dot com. Plus for

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.