How does the moon affect the earth?
Giant Jupiter has three satellites larger than our moon and shimmering Saturn has one. But none of these big moons are one tenth as large as their parent planets. Our moon is about a quarter the size of the earth. It is larger in proportion to its planet than any satellite in the Solar System and this should mean that the moon has a considerable effect upon the earth. And so it does.
The moon has a marked effect upon the earth's land and sea. It has an even more marked effect upon the people who live on this luxury planet. The daily tides wash all kinds of debris from the beaches and the heaving tides of the deep ocean shift countless colonies of marine plants and animals. Pounding tidal waves tear at the shores aausing erosion and vast changes in the shape of the land masses.
On a very small scale, the tides are felt by the solid shell of the earth's crust. We do not feel this, but fine instruments can detect a faint heaving of the ground similar to the tides which toss the fluid oceans. All these tidal actions are caused by the gravity of the moon and over a long period of time they work to remodel the shape of earth's land and seas. Some experts claim that the pull of the moon works to slow down the earths rotation acid after millions of years our days may be a little longer.
The most important influence of the moon, however, concerns man himself. Primitive man was suspicious of what he 'did not understand. He was terrified when the moon eclipsed the sun, plunging the day into the darkness of midnight. He suspected that our changeable moon was powerful enough to control his crops and he planted only at certain phases of the moon.
But as we learned more facts, we lost these fears and became free to admire the beauty of the moon and the marvels of it's eclipses.
The solar eclipse has taught science much about the sun, about its far reaching corona and the dazzling flares that stream up from its surface. The sequence of eclipses can be used to figure out the path of the moon and the structure of our of the Solar. System. . The eclipse or occultation of a distant star can sometimes be used to figure the starts size and distance. Moon study has solved many a problem of the heavens. Its greatest contribution has been knowledge for the inquisitive human mind.
Mankind saw the light and dark patches of the lunar landscape long before true moon study came to be. From earliest times, the moon was a beckoning beacon to tempt us across a short distance of space. Now we are ready to take the voyage and the useful old moon will become even more useful. In the future travelers to the planets may start out from lunar launching pads.