The Moon: What is it's purpose?

Discussion in 'Astronomy, Exobiology, & Cosmology' started by John99, Jan 23, 2009.

  1. John99 Banned Banned

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    It would not surprise me if the moon were to not exist that no effect would be felt on the earth. that is what i think.

    It would be darker at night but i am going on record by stating that its effect are way overstated. frankly, i dont believe any exist.
     
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  3. Nasor Valued Senior Member

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    The moon has been gradually slowing the earth for about 4 billion years. Without the moon we would have 8 hour days, instead of 24 hour days. The faster rotation might have interesting effects on weather etc.
     
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  5. John99 Banned Banned

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    How does an object so far away effect the earths rotation?

    The moon's gravitational force also has an effect on oceanic tides but what are the chances that this is not true?
     
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  7. Nasor Valued Senior Member

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    Basically the interactions of the moon, the earth, and the earth's oceans causes kinetic energy to transfer from the earth to the moon. The result is that the earth spins slower and the moon moves to a slightly higher orbit (it was originally much closer than it currently is).
     
  8. D H Some other guy Valued Senior Member

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    Better stated: angular momentum transfers from the Earth to the Moon. Kinetic + potential energy is not conserved here (think of all the energy that turns into heat with the tides). Angular momentum is conserved.

    Zero. But if you don't believe me, you can jump out of an airplane at 10,000 feet without a parachute. If you survive the landing, the chances are that our theories of gravitation are wrong.

    The Moon has played and continues to play a number of significant roles. Life as we know it (if it existed at all) would be very, very different. Venus never lost its primordial atmosphere and thus suffers a runaway greenhouse effect. Something stripped that thick atmosphere from the early Earth. The body that hit the Earth and formed the Moon is a leading suspect. There are other ways the Moon plays a role (tides is one). See http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=942 and http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2507, among others.
     
  9. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    Most of the tidal effects seen on the Earth are caused by the Moon's gravitational pull, with the Sun making only a small contribution. Tidal effects result in an increase of the mean Earth-Moon distance of about 3.8 m per century, or 3.8 cm per year. As a result of the conservation of angular momentum, the increasing semimajor axis of the Moon is accompanied by a gradual slowing of the Earth's rotation by about 0.002 seconds per day per century.


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon

    Besides these facts there's not much else the moon does to or for the Earth that we know about today.
     
  10. Betrayer0fHope MY COHERENCE! IT'S GOING AWAYY Registered Senior Member

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    Huh. I thought you didn't believe in gravity. :shrugs:
     
  11. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    We have tides because of the moon. Arguably there would have been no life on Earth if the moon hadn't been there.
    The moon itself, however, has no purpose. I don't think it is conscious..

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  12. PieAreSquared Woo is resistant to reason Registered Senior Member

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    I thought it controlled woman, that was its purpose
     
  13. Steve100 O͓͍̯̬̯̙͈̟̥̳̩͒̆̿ͬ̑̀̓̿͋ͬ ̙̳ͅ ̫̪̳͔O Valued Senior Member

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    What is it is purpose?
     
  14. John Connellan Valued Senior Member

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    Just consider how accurate we are in being able to predict the tides and their heights etc. Without the moons gravitational influence in these equations this could not happen.

    So now what would you think the chances are?
     
  15. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    What's your's? :shrug:
     
  16. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    Actually it controls the metaphysical changes in lycanthropes !
     
  17. Saquist Banned Banned

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    I believe the moon is the cause of Tectonics on Earth. The moons gravity might have initially have broken up the Earth's surface
     
  18. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    Can you provide proof of that?
     
  19. swivel Sci-Fi Author Valued Senior Member

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    We would certainly have life on the planet with or without the moon. You couldn't have a wet and warm mass with chemical diversity and not get life.

    A better question is whether or not we would have terrestrial life. Without tide pools and the rise and fall of water on a beach, perhaps amphibians would not have come into being, preventing mammals from evolving.

    Then again, life has an amazing ability to fill any niche that is left open. Maybe it would have taken longer, but a flying family of species could have evolved from fish. And insects certainly would have made the transition, so life could have gotten dry one of these ways.

    Also, the current estimate is that the biomass of "extremophiles", small organisms and single-cell life that lives inside the Earth's crust and at thermal vents could total more in weight than "conventional" life. If this is true, it means life forms much more easily than anyone ever dreamed. So all the moon ever did was make some of the evolutionary couplings a bit more romantic.
     
  20. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    How can anything have a purpose if it's not either conscious or made with intent by a conscious being ?
     
  21. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    The hypothesis is that life began in tide pools. No moon, no tide pools.
     
  22. phlogistician Banned Banned

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    Damn, you're ignorant.

    The Moon is quite likely a chunk of the Earth. If it didn't exist, the Earth would not have undergone the impact that separated it from us. Without that, the Earth would undoubtedly be a very different place.
     
  23. John99 Banned Banned

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    interesting responses. presently i am too busy to respond. keep them coming and will get to them later.
     

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