S07 → N400
The Spike of Fascinating & Unexpected
SPIKE 08
→ MOON.
© 1. NASA — The Moon / 2. Galileo Galilei — First Drawings of the Moon After Seeing It Through the Telescope (1609) / 3. Aeronautical Chart Information Center — Lunar Chart Series: LAC-12 Plato / 4. unknown — Telescopic View of the Moon (1886) / 5. NASA Hubble — Crater Tycho on the Moon / 6. Peggy Whitson — The Moon from the ISS / 7. NASA — The world's first view of Earth taken by a spacecraft from the vicinity of the Moon by Lunar Orbiter I (1966) / 8. Johannes Hevelius — Map of the Moon engraved by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius (1645) / 9. unknown — Moon Mare / 10. NASA — A view of Earth rising above the lunar horizon photographed from the Apollo 10 Lunar Module (1969).
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Galileo Galilei, the renowned Italian astronomer, made groundbreaking observations of the moon in the early 17th century. Using his newly developed telescope in 1609, Galileo became the first person to systematically study the lunar surface. Through meticulous observations, he produced detailed sketches of the moon’s features, revealing a rugged and cratered landscape vastly different from the smooth celestial sphere previously imagined by scholars. His drawings depicted mountain ranges, craters, and other irregularities, challenging the prevailing Aristotelian view of the moon as a perfect, unchanging sphere.
The gravitational interaction between the Earth and the moon causes tides on Earth. The moon’s gravity pulls on Earth’s oceans, creating bulges of water – one on the side of Earth facing the moon and one on the opposite side. Due to Earth’s rotation, the tidal bulge is slightly ahead of the moon’s position in its orbit. This offset creates a gravitational torque that acts on the moon. The gravitational interaction between the Earth and the tidal bulge exerts a forward force on the moon, transferring angular momentum from the Earth to the moon. This process causes the moon to gain energy and move into a higher orbit. The current rate of lunar recession is approximately 3,8 centimetres (about 1.5 inches) per year. This rate is measured using lunar laser ranging experiments, where lasers are bounced off retroreflectors placed on the moon’s surface by Apollo missions. Geological records, such as the study of ancient tidal deposits and coral growth patterns, provide evidence of the historical rate of lunar recession. These records help scientists understand how the Earth-Moon system has evolved over millions of years. As the moon recedes, Earth’s rotation slows down due to the conservation of angular momentum. This results in an increase in the length of a day. Over millions of years, days on Earth have gradually become longer. The moon’s gravitational influence helps stabilise the tilt of the Earth’s axis. A receding Moon could potentially lead to greater variability in Earth’s axial tilt over long timescales, affecting the climate. The rate of lunar recession is expected to continue, although it may change due to variations in Earth’s tidal dynamics. Over billions of years, this process will have significant effects on both the moon’s orbit and Earth’s rotation. If the current rate of recession continues, the moon will eventually reach a point where it will take exactly one month to orbit the Earth, and the same face of the moon will always be visible from Earth. This state is called “tidal locking” and is already partially achieved since the moon currently shows only one face to Earth.
The moon also possesses a remarkable feature known as a “sodium tail,” which comprises a cloud of sodium atoms extending millions of kilometres into space. These atoms are ejected from the moon’s surface through various processes, including solar wind bombardment, micrometeoroid impacts, and photon-stimulated desorption. Once liberated, the sodium atoms are influenced by solar radiation pressure and the solar wind, creating a diffuse tail that extends away from the moon, akin to a comet’s tail. The sodium tail is extremely faint and requires specialized instruments to detect, such as telescopes equipped with sodium filters. It can extend over 500,000 kilometres from the moon and exhibits variations in brightness and structure influenced by solar activity and the moon’s position relative to the Earth and the Sun. Observations of the sodium tail provide insights into lunar surface processes, solar wind interactions, and planetary science. Studying this phenomenon contributes to our understanding of planetary exospheres and the dynamics of celestial bodies in space.
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