What would happen if the moon was twice as far from Earth?
If the Moon were twice the distance, then the gravity of the Earth would be insufficient (it decreases with the square of the distance) to hold the Moon in orbit, and the Moon would go whizzing off into space.
Do tides cause the moon to move further away from the Earth?
The migration of the Moon away from the Earth is mainly due to the action of the Earth’s tides. Due to the rotation of the Earth, this tidal bulge actually sits slightly ahead of the Moon. Some of the energy of the spinning Earth gets transferred to the tidal bulge via friction.
What would happen to the tides of the moon was only half the current distance from Earth?
If the moon were half its mass, then the ocean tides would have been correspondingly smaller and imparted less energy to it. So a less massive moon would nonetheless end up closer than the real one to Earth. The energy given to the moon comes from Earth’s rotation—and to compensate, our planet is slowing down.
What will happen to Earth’s tides as the moon moves away from us?
With the whole system synchronized, the Earth and Moon will no longer have any tidal effects on each other, and the Moon will stop moving away. But not all tides will be gone at that point! The Sun will continue to exert tides on the Earth, slowing its rotation further.
Could there ever be another moon on earth?
Enjoy your journey around the sun. Earth’s second moon will make a close approach to the planet next week before drifting off into space, never to be seen again. Astronomers call it 2020 SO — a small object that dropped into Earth’s orbit about halfway between our planet and the moon in September 2020.
How long can you be in space?
To date, the longest continuous amount of time a human has spent in space is 437 days. This feat was lived out by Russian astronaut Valeri Polyakov. When it comes to total number of days spent in space, fellow Russian Sergei Krikalev takes the cake, with over 803 days in space, spread out over six flights.
What’s the longest anyone has lived in space?
Valeri Vladimirovich Polyakov (Russian: Валерий Владимирович Поляков, born Valeri Ivanovich Korshunov on 27 April 1942) is a Russian former cosmonaut. He is the holder of the record for the longest single stay in space, staying aboard the Mir space station for more than 14 months (437 days 18 hours) during one trip.
Can you stay in space forever?
It protects the astronauts from the cold of space, gives them air to breathe, and protects them from all that nasty radiation. Again, though, it’s not safe for people to live their forever, and being in space for a long time isn’t good for your body.