What would happen if the Moon disappeared
If the Moon vanished, its last light would keep reaching you for a little over a second, and Earth would keep almost exactly the same path around the Sun. The tides would shrink to the Sun's share, about half as strong. Every night would be as dark as a new moon, and corals that use moonlight to time their spawning would lose that cue. Over millions of years, Earth's tilt could swing much wider without the Moon to steady it, and scientists still debate how far.
- 0:00 The last light
- 0:07 The orbit holds
- 0:14 Two bulges
- 0:23 The Sun's share, the shore
- 0:31 Darker nights, a lost cue
- 0:40 The tilt and its anchor
- 0:48 Millions of years, debated
- 0:56 Look up