| | The Vital Moon The Moon means far more to us here on Earth than just a little disc in the sky. If it weren't for the Moon, we might well not be here at all. So why is the Moon so vital? Here are... Seven good reasons why everyone needs the Moon  Daytime Moon in autumn It seems that the giant impact event that created the Moon in the first place could well be the reason why the Earth's axis was shifted over into its current tilt of 23.5 degrees. Calculations of the blow that the early Earth would have received turn out nicely to result in just the right tilt. This tilt gives us our seasons and provides a range of climatically different zones from the poles to the equator that has enabled a wide range of ecosystems to evolve. Without the anchoring effect of the Moon, we might be subject to severe climate changes that only the hardiest organisms could survive. Reason 2:
“There just aren’t enough hours in the
day”  Tidal estuary with tide in (top) and out The Moon has a great power over the Earth, conjuring up twice daily tides in our oceans. The Moon’s pull on the Earth results in a bulge of water forming on the side facing the Moon, and at the same time a bulge is also created on the opposite side because the Moon has effectively pulled the Earth away from the oceans there. In fact, the tidal bulge is pushed slightly ahead of the Moon due to the Earth’s rotation, causing the Moon to accelerate to catch up with the bulge while slowing down the Earth. Places in between the two high tides experience low tides. When there is a full moon or new moon the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun are combined, resulting in either very high tides or very low tides.If we didn’t have the Moon then there would still be tides inflicted by the Sun, but that only produces one-third the effect of the Moon’s tides. And billions of years ago, when the Moon was only about a tenth of its present distance, the tides raised by the Moon were tremendous, racing hundreds of miles inland. These tides probably played a crucial role in the development of life on Earth by covering vast tracts of land with water and washing minerals from the land back into the oceans, producing a primeval soup in which life was able to arise. Later, when the Moon had moved farther away, more gentle tides created intertidal habitats that probably encouraged life to leave the seas and venture onto land. The Moon also exerts a force on the Earth’s crust, which could have helped trigger convection cycles in the mantle which led to the process of plate tectonics. Earth is the only planet to have continental plates – and the only planet teeming with life. | |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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