Something weird is going on.
The days are getting longer,
the weather is getting worse,
and a lot of surfers look sad.
Chin up, guys.
Maybe the waves will show up tomorrow?
While it may look like
we have a full Moon up there,
what if the other half
broke off?
Are we doomed?
As friendly neighbors in the sky,
the Moon and Earth
have a symbiotic relationship.
The Moon's gravity
keeps us on a fixed schedule,
creating tides that travel around the Earth
every 24 hours.
Since the Moon is tidally locked to the Earth,
we always see the same side of the Moon.
So if we lost the dark side,
we might not notice immediately.
But would the other half start to drift away?
If the two halves can escape
each other's gravity over millions
and possibly billions of years,
the Moon chunks
would become spherical again,
sculpted over time by gravity.
The Earth could be left with
two smaller moons,
making Star Wars fans everywhere rejoice.
Even if the Moon were cut in half,
we would only notice a difference
if one piece disappeared.
If the Moon were half its size,
we'd experience only partial solar eclipses,
With less mass,
the Moon would start to venture
closer to Earth.
So even though it would be smaller in size,
it might look bigger to us.
And with weaker Moon gravity,
our tides would be smaller,
affecting underwater ecosystems
living in the intertidal zone,
the area between high and low tide.
Sea turtles,
seabirds,
and fish would be endangered.
Knowing when to feed,
lay eggs
or migrate
would be incredibly difficult
without the regularity of the tides.
The presence of the Moon
also slows down the Earth's rotation.
This keeps our days 24 hours long.
With only half a Moon,
there would be less drag on Earth,
leading to 15-hour days.
If you're working the night shift,
I'm sorry, but prepare for a pay cut.
With less stability from the Moon's gravity,
the Earth's axial tilt would change,
causing dramatic seasonal shifts
and swings in temperature.
This is why Mars has such crazy weather.
Its two tiny moons
make Mars wobble on its axis,
causing dramatic changes in temperature
and high winds.
Uh, Houston,
we have a problem.
There's something wrong with the Moon.
It seems to be missing a chunk
and, well, I'm really curious about it.
Copy that, Peter.
We're sending you a briefing now.
All systems go.
Initiating CuriosityStream.
Woaaaahhh, cool!
Thanks, Houston.
No problemo, Peter.
We've got you covered.
If you're eager to learn more
about the Moon or space,
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So how exactly could the Moon split in half?
Like Earth,
Over millions of years,
the Moon has cooled down
from a hot melted rock to what we have today.
This cooling has caused the Moon to shrink
The Moon has gotten about
50 m (150 ft) skinnier
over the last several hundred million years.
Hey, Moon,
looking good. Nice and trim.
"Thanks, Peter!"
As the Moon shrinks,
its volume decreases
and compresses the surface.
Like a grape turning into a raisin,
the Moon wrinkles as it shrinks,
causing its crust to shift
and trigger intense moonquakes.
Some of them are quite strong,
around five on the Richter scale.
A moonquake
would have to be pretty severe
to cut the Moon in half.
But an asteroid impact
in the right spot could do the trick.
Although, it wouldn't be a clean cut
and would likely shatter the Moon
into several pieces.
Some historians have come to the conclusion
the Moon may have cracked in the past.
On June 18, in the year 1178,
several people in Southern England
reported seeing a raging fire
spread like a snake on the Moon.
Astronomers think that
what these villagers saw
could have been the 3 km (1.8 mi) asteroid
that formed Giordano Bruno's crater.
This would have triggered the expulsion
of a massive amount of lunar material,
about 10 million tons (20 billion lb)
in the direction of Earth.
Talk about an epic meteor shower!
While the Moon won't likely
split in half anytime soon,
it is moving away from us
at a speed of 3.78 cm (1.5 in) per year.
That may not seem like much,
it's not going to make the moon
appear any smaller,
but with many potential
Moon mining projects in the works,
our Moon could look
very different in the future.
So I guess, enjoy it while it lasts.
If you think losing half of the Moon is scary,
what if there was no Moon at all?
Could we survive on a moonless Earth?
That's a story for another WHAT IF.