What if the Moon suddenly started coming closer to Earth, so close that it would be in a position to collide with our planet? Would Earth survive this crash? Or would a crash even happen? Would Earth's gravity tear the Moon apart and if it did, what would this shattered Moon look like from Earth?
As we know the Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth and also the largest object that lights up our night sky. Beyond Earth, this is the first and only place where humans have set foot. Due to the pull of the Moon's gravity, the tides rise in the Earth's oceans, and perhaps these tides might have been the reason why the life in the ocean moved to land. This pull also protects the earth from wobbling on its axis, due to which the climate remains relatively stable. In short, life on earth is easier because of the moon. So what if suddenly its speed increases and it starts moving directly towards the earth?
But once the moon would reach the Roche limit, its plan to destroy the earth will backfire on it. Because the moon itself will be shattered and will not reach the earth's surface and this will be a sight to behold. But wait, now the question is, what is this Roche limit? Actually, this is the point in space science where the gravity holding a satellite together is weaker than the tidal forces trying to pull it apart. In other words, the moon can only come as near as 18,470 km away from Earth, before it explodes, as it will be torn apart by tidal forces. And whatever the flags and footprints the humans left on the moon, all of its craters and valleys would be transformed into a ring of debris above the Earth's equator, with 37,000 km in diameter. This would make Earth the second planet in the solar system, after Saturn, to have such a beautiful ring around it, the only difference being that this ring won't last long.
The shattered pieces of our former satellite moon would start raining down on the earth as if millions of asteroids are falling down on us, resulting in the cities of cities being destroyed in the process. Once the moon moves closer to our planet, it would increase the tidal impact it has on us, and by the time it reaches the Roche limit, it would cause tides as high as 7,600 meters. As a result, our earth will face the havoc of terrible tsunamis, and that too ten times a day. But for a short time, some professional surfers would enjoy riding some tasty waves. On the other hand, it can become a solution to global warming. The Earth's rotation would speed up as the moon gets closer, days would get shorter, global temperatures would drop and no one would need to worry about climate change. Until the asteroids don't burn the earth to a crisp, there would be no one to worry about anything.
But the truth is there should not be any concern about this whole destruction because this is not actually possible as the moon is drifting away from us at the rate of 4 cm every year. So in the future, it is quite difficult for us to see a beautiful ring like Saturn around the earth.
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