r/interestingasfuck • u/howimetyourcakeshop • 10h ago

Our moon being formed.

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u/aussierulesisgrouse 4h ago

It makes me feel weird that all of human existence was built from and defined by the most tiny, weird, infinitesimal chances of very specific things happening.

If that shard of theia bust off farther into space and we don’t have a moon, does anyone know what would change for life today? Would it have adapted as well over millennia?

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u/Optimal_Bottle_1479 1h ago

The moon is responsible for slowing the Earth’s rotation. A day on Earth was much shorter way back then. Hundreds of millions of years to the billions.

The moon also stabilizes Earth’s axial tilt which will stabilize the climate preventing extreme climate changes.

As well as helping with the magnetic sphere. Tidal forces from the moon essentially keep the iron core active which keeps the magnetic sphere present, which protects us against the sun. A great example of this is Mars. The core inside Mars has cooled and has stopped spinning which means no more magnetic sphere. Therefore the solar wind from the sun completely bombards the surface practically making it sterile.

The moon is responsible for many things to allow complex life to thrive

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u/Aeonskye 32m ago

and here we are wasting it all, hating and killing each other over rocks and paper

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u/originalrocket 17m ago

and gods

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u/heisian 1m ago

and pokemon cards

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u/Alarmed-Writer-8059 0m ago

Scissors for the win? 

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u/35point1 49m ago

Imagine if this happened a bunch of other times and we are just recycled human and rock matter

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u/moep123 39m ago

it feels like a successful bottle flip to the top of a needle

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u/Acceptable_Help575 37m ago

Specifically that the moon is so large and so close compared to many gravitationally connected celestial bodies. Tidal forces alone (heating the core, balancing axial tilt, and the literal water tides) may have a large responsibility for bioagenesis to be possible on Earth.