The Moon.
Our cheeky little orbital.
The moon is less than a third of the size of the earth in diameter.
According to our mates Nasa, if the earth were the size of a nickel, the moon would
be a coffee bean… but what if earth was bean sized?
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions, the channel that loves to answer
all manor of things, big and small because we believe that every question deserves an
answer!
I am your host Rebecca Felgate and today I am asking What if Earth was the Size of the
Moon?
Before we delve deep into this video, I wanna ask you guys if you think humans will ever
commercially go to the moon, like will we vacation there?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section down below.
Also while you are down there, why don’t you hit that thumbs up button and share this
video with a friend that you think will find it interesting.
Do stick around to the end of the video to hear some responses to comments from a previous
video.
So.
Earth the size of the moon.
What would that be like?
Right now the earth has a diameter of 12,742 kilometres and the moon just 3,474/2 kilometres.
That is, if my sometimes dodgy math was correct, 27 percent the size of the earth, so between
a quarter and a third the size.
Assuming the make up of the earth was much the same but we just shrunk, well… things
would be very different.
The earth would have less mass, which means that it would rotate faster than it dies right
now.
Currently the earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours.
If the earth were just 27% of its current size then days and nights would be much quicker.
The least of our issues would be sleep patterns – although yes, this would be very strange
to us indeed…and if earth had always been teeny and fast, well, maybe we would have
evolved differently as our brains work differently with the measure of sleep.
While the length of the day would be shorter, the length of a year would change too, and
perhaps the gravity of the sun would have a greater effect on us, drawing us closer,
which would mean fiery hell hot hot death… although lets just assume we stayed put for
the sake of the video for now.
So on the topic of gravity, if the earth were moon sized, even with our same structure and
same core, the mass of the earth of course would alter, which means our gravity would
change too.
With less gravity and a faster spin, we could be in danger of losing our breathable atmosphere
which could mean being exposed to harmful radiation and, worryingly, losing some of
our oxygen.
This would have a profound effect on plant life.
The smaller the planet – the faster it cools – which means less geothermal energy – if
our core cools we will lose the coriolis effect, which has happened to our neighbour mate Mars.
This means we would be at even greater risk of losing our atmosphere.
Okay – so a smaller earth on a physics level isn’t looking great – what about on an
anthropological level?
How would we humans handle having less space but the same population?
There are 7.5 billion people on earth.
In the year 1900, there was just 1.6 billion.
In 120 years, we’ve gained 6 billion.
That is mental.
Actually mental.
So, where would we fit everyone.
Funnily enough, we’d fit alright.
If everyone on earth stood shoulder to shoulder, we would all fit in a space of roughly 500
square miles, so a city roughly the size of Phoenix, Arizona.
Right now there is 57,308,738 square miles of land on earth, although 33% is desert about
24% is mountainous.
Subtracting this uninhabitable 57% still leaves 24,642,757 square miles of habitable land.
If earth were moon size, we would have 6 milllion, 653 thousand 544 miles of habitable earth
to play with….
Which should be enough to physically fit us all comfortably… the issue, however, comes
from having enough land to farm and enough fresh water to drink.
With earth the size it is now, we are already struggling.
There simply wouldn’t be enough resources; a smaller earth just couldn’t sustain the
currently population.
Maybe we could pull a Xenu and round people up, pop them in volcanoes and nuke them.
Niche scientology references anyone?
If earth is moon size, what about the actual moon?
Would that be earth size, if so it would be a tidal eave nightmare and we would start
orbiting it!
If it stayed moon sized and we were two wee cosmic sisters, then perhaps our gravities
would influence on another and we would create a gravitational vortex between us.
Ultimately, questions like this are hard to answer on a very deep and intricate level
because everything on earth is the way it is because of the way earth is.
We have evolved to our earth – we are the way we and life is the way life is because
of the conditions earth has given us.
Maybe if earth were moon sized we have evolved to be miniature versions of ourselves but
then again maybe not.
The likelihood is there wouldn’t be life at all, or as we know it anyway.
Sorry tiny earth, you aren’t the one.
So that is one question pondered there for you.
What did you think to this?
How do you feel about baby earth?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section down below and also do let me know
if you think humans will ever take holidays on the moon?
Would you go?
I would.
I am actually recording this video on the day of a full moon and that makes me happy!
Moon moon moon.
Maybe I need a moon song.
Like, share, sub, Before I go I am going to read some comments
from a recent video – it was actually Charlotte’s video What if the Earth had 67 Moons?
Teague Wessel said: 1979: In the future we will have flying cars!
2019: What if Earth had 67 moons?
Matt Malyj said: Can you do what if the earth turned inside out
Depression said: Next question: what if the moon had 67 earths
Okay that is all I have time for once again please do comment with your thoughts and leave
a thumbs up.
I am your host Rebecca Felgate, I’ll catch you in the next video, but until then, stay
curious, stay alert and never ever stop questioning.