Moonless Earth

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The Moon does have effects on the Earth because it makes the tides be pulled, but gravity pulls them back. It might also effect the weather. Scientists have long believed that, without our moon, the tilt of the Earth would shift greatly over time, from zero degrees, where the Sun remains over the equator, to 85 degrees, where the Sun shines almost directly above one of the poles. A planet’s stability has an effect on the development of life. A planet see-sawing back and forth on its axis as it orbits the Sun would experience wide fluctuations in climate, which then could potentially affect the evolution of complex life. It is theorized by some that life itself would be virtually impossible without a moon, since the moon has a stabilizing effect on the orientation of earth's axis. Without the moon, the north-south axis would vary tremendously-- to the point where the poles would sometimes be in our orbital plane. These changes would mean that there would be no stable seasons, and it's questionable whether or not the planet would be able to sustain life.

The Moon does have effects on the Earth because it makes the tides be pulled, but gravity pulls them back. It might also effect the weather. Scientists have long believed that, without our moon, the tilt of the Earth would shift greatly over time, from zero degrees, where the Sun remains over the equator, to 85 degrees, where the Sun shines almost directly above one of the poles. A planet’s stability has an effect on the development of life. A planet see-sawing back and forth on its axis as it orbits the Sun would experience wide fluctuations in climate, which then could potentially affect the evolution of complex life. It is theorized by some that life itself would be virtually impossible without a moon, since the moon has a stabilizing effect on the orientation of earth's axis. Without the moon, the north-south axis would vary tremendously-- to the point where the poles would sometimes be in our orbital plane. These changes would mean that there would be no stable seasons, and it's questionable whether or not the planet would be able to sustain life.

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However, new simulations show that, even without a moon, the tilt of Earth's axis - known as its obliquity - would vary only about ten degrees. The influence of other planets in the solar system could have kept a moonless Earth stable.

The stabilizing effect that our large moon has on Earth's rotation therefore may not be as crucial for life as previously believed, according to a paper by Jason Barnes of the University of Idaho and colleagues which was presented at a recent meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

The new research also suggests that moons are not needed for other planets in the universe to be potentially habitable.

While Earth's moon does provide some stability, the new data reveals that the pull of other planets orbiting the Sun - especially Jupiter - would keep Earth from swinging too wildly, despite its chaotic evolution.

"Because Jupiter is the most massive, it really defines the average plane of the solar system," said Barnes.

Without a moon, Barnes and his collaborators have determined that Earth's obliquity would only vary ten to twenty degrees over a half a billion years.

That doesn't sound like much, but the changes of one to two degrees the planet presently exhibits are thought to be partly responsible for the Ice Ages.

Please note that Venus has no moon, and no problem with axial instability. Venus is almost as large as earth. Mars has two tiny moons, and again, no axial instability. It is likely that the lunar influence on life is miniscule in terms of axis stability.

Life has indeed adapted to the presence of a moon and tides. But life may have simply taken a different course had there been no moon. The night sky would be as dark as any new moon night. Nocturnal birds and other animals would have more difficulty seeing by only starlight.

For further information: http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/4134/the-odds-for-life-on-a-moonless-earth-
Photo: NASA