Comments on: What would be the effects on the earth if the moon exploded?

Question: What would be the effects on the earth if the moon exploded?

tcobretti — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 22:28:47 -0800

What would be the effects on the earth if the moon exploded? Let's forget about the "how," and just focus on what would happen, both long term and short term.

This is for a cheesy scifi project I am working on, not just because I was idly wondering about it.

By: Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 22:31:48 -0800

Well, there would be a lot of peices of the moon crashing into the earth, so that would suck.

By: The Jesse Helms

The Jesse Helms — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 22:32:20 -0800

Google Answers: What happens on earth if the moon explodes?

The Straight Dope: I plan to destroy the moon. What effect would this have on the earth?

By: RichardP

RichardP — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 22:38:13 -0800

You might also find inspiration from Endor Holocaust, which answers, in great detail, the question "What happens when you detonate a spherical metal honeycomb over five hundred miles wide just above the atmosphere of a habitable world?"

By: tcobretti

tcobretti — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 22:39:15 -0800

Dang, you guys are fast!

By: bshort

bshort — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 22:39:19 -0800

The tides would change radically and would only be dependent on the sun. Also, the Earth might experience more meteorite strikes.

By: camcgee

camcgee — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 23:22:31 -0800

Related: not exactly exploding, but there is a new TV show about the moon getting hit by an asteroid and splitting into pieces.

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:31:05 -0800

How matters. Will large bits of the moon be blown onto the Earth's surface? That would be bad.

By: TwelveTwo

TwelveTwo — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:44:15 -0800

Cheaper moonrocks.

By: Chunder

Chunder — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 01:11:54 -0800

Any potential effects upon periods?
There'd also be a fair bit of ecological disruption - several creatures breed/spawn/migrate by the moonlight...

Also, no more eclipses :(

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 01:22:55 -0800

Related: not exactly exploding, but there is a new TV show about the moon getting hit by an asteroid and splitting into pieces.

That must be the cheesy sci-fi project that tcobretti is working on.

By: jontyjago

jontyjago — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 03:07:46 -0800

One theory of why moths are attracted to lights is that they use the moon to navigate by. So destroying the moon would clear that one up at least.

By: kaseijin

kaseijin — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 05:06:06 -0800

Inignot will be pissed, that's for sure.

By: Meatbomb

Meatbomb — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 05:20:07 -0800

Lovers won't have it in the sky during romatic walks, so smooching on park benches in the evening won't be quite as nice as it is these days.

By: Meatbomb

Meatbomb — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 05:22:46 -0800

The word "moon" will be a much more frequent vocabulary item in the short term, but gradually fall out of common usage in the longer term.

By: bleary

bleary — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 05:54:24 -0800

Jack McDevitt, Moonfall.

By: JJ86

JJ86 — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 05:59:13 -0800

We'd be F'd. Considering the amount of energy it would take to blow apart the moon, it would obviously have a major effect on the earth's orbit and rotation. Not to mention the amount of moon material that would hit the earth. A huge amount of material would form into a permanent cloud orbiting us and obscure sunlight. Temperatures would plummet for hundreds of years if not more. Anyone who survived the initial explosion wouldn't last very long....

By: miagaille

miagaille — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 06:06:13 -0800

See also "What would be the effects on the earth if the moon suddenly disappeared?"

By: saladin

saladin — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 06:18:15 -0800

I believe that the show Cowboy Bebop dealt with this very theme in several episodes.

By: Loto

Loto — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 06:24:34 -0800

See Thundarr the Barbarian for details on the outcome of such an event.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 06:31:47 -0800

"The year 1994: From out of space comes a runaway planet, hurtling between the Earth and the Moon, unleashing cosmic destruction. Man's civilization is
cast in ruin.

Two thousand years later, Earth is reborn...

A strange new world rises from the old: a world of savagery, super science, and sorcery. But one man bursts his bonds to fight for justice! With his companions Ookla the Mok and Princess Ariel, he pits his strength, his courage, and his fabulous Sunsword against the forces of evil.

He is Thundarr, the Barbarian!"

I don't see how anyone or anything can top that.

—Ookla the Mok

By: kookoobirdz

kookoobirdz — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 06:55:48 -0800

Showers of lovely molten cheese. All the cheese you could ever want, which would be good for about two meals worth, because then it would start to spoil. But for a while it would be fantastic.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 06:56:19 -0800

Hearing Bill Monroe sing the line "blue moon of Kentucky, keep on shining, shine on the one who's gone and said goodbye" will be a more bittersweet experience than ever.

By: luis huiton

luis huiton — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 06:57:12 -0800

And "Cosmos 1999", the moon leave the orbit.

strange question, do you think that the WMD are hide up there ?!

By: bleary

bleary — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:21:04 -0800

See also "What would be the effects on the earth if the moon suddenly disappeared?"

I used to have these gedanken experiments going through my head in high school, and one of them was what would happen with the gravity from the sun if it magically vanished? Right, we all daydream about how long the light would take to stop. Same deal with gravity. I asked my teach if it gravity "travels" at c.

By: bleary

bleary — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:22:28 -0800

Hearing Bill Monroe sing the line "blue moon of Kentucky, keep on shining, shine on the one who's gone and said goodbye" will be a more bittersweet experience than ever.

*thinks of Audry Hepburn singing Moon River*

*sobs*

(and then goes to post in that weepy movie thread, no, just kidding)

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 09:02:56 -0800

On the plus side, thousands of werewolves would be cured.

By: Zed_Lopez

Zed_Lopez — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 10:57:47 -0800

What If the Moon Didn't Exist covers what if it had never existed.

By: ganseki

ganseki — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 10:58:09 -0800

Space: 1999?

By: tcobretti

tcobretti — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 12:22:28 -0800

Thanks for the help folks. Some pretty funny answers.

In about 4 months I'll post my lunar-apocalypse project to MeFi projects, so be watching!