Did you know the Moon is slowly drifting away from Earth? 🌙🚀 It’s moving about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) farther every year, which might not sound like a big deal, but over millions of years, it adds up! This shift affects Earth’s tides, changes our planet’s rotation, and could even mess with the length of our days in the distant future. Scientists say that in 600 million years, the Moon will be too far away to cause total solar eclipses anymore. 😲 While that’s not an immediate problem, if the Moon keeps moving away, Earth’s stability could change drastically. Let’s just hope we’ve figured out space travel by then! 🚀✨ Animation is created by Bright Side.
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Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
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For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me
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This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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FunTranscript
00:00Under your feet the moon is pulsing. You feel danger with every pore of your body.
00:05The lifeless satellite, or so you thought, stays still for a second,
00:09before knocking you down to the ground with a powerful tremor.
00:13Is it a moonquake?
00:17For years, scientists believed the moon was completely inactive.
00:21But the newest evidence seems to suggest that this idea is totally wrong.
00:26Researchers from the University of Maryland have recently discovered
00:30266 mysterious ridges on the far side of the moon.
00:35And these ridges likely point to recent geological activity.
00:39So, are we really talking moonquakes?
00:42Well, kind of.
00:44The ridges are located in volcanic regions that formed 3.2 to 3.6 billion years ago.
00:50But they appear much younger than expected,
00:53typically found in clusters of 10 to 40.
00:56They're often located in areas where the moon's surface is structurally weaker.
01:01Now, when astronomers speak about recent, don't take their words literally.
01:06They don't mean last year or even decade.
01:09Most models scientists created suggested that the moon's geological activity
01:13ended 2.5 to 3 billion years ago.
01:17But the new information hints at the possibility that these formations
01:21have been active within the last billion years.
01:24Some of the smaller ridges seem to have formed as recently as 200 million years ago.
01:30And that is considered relatively young on the moon's timescale.
01:34It means that the moon may still be experiencing geological changes today.
01:40These discoveries kind of challenge our understanding of the moon's history and evolution.
01:45But how did scientists come to these conclusions anyway?
01:49Researchers from the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution
01:53used crater counting to estimate the age of lunar ridges.
01:58It works like this.
02:00Surfaces with fewer craters are younger.
02:02And the more craters some region has, the older it is.
02:06Plus, the analysis showed that some ridges cut through already existing craters,
02:11meaning they likely formed around 160 million years ago.
02:16In geological terms, this is very recent,
02:19suggesting that these ridge-forming processes may still be happening.
02:24Another cool thing is that the ridges on both the near and far sides of the moon are similar,
02:30which means they may have formed through the same geological processes,
02:34having been shaped by the same forces.
02:38These forces might include the moon's gradual shrinking,
02:42thermal contraction, and shifts in its orbit.
02:45We'll talk about it a bit later.
02:47Another argument supporting the idea of a still active moon
02:51is decades-old data from the Apollo missions.
02:54They had already detected shallow moonquakes with the Apollo Lunar Seismic Experiment,
02:59recording 28 quakes ranging from magnitude 1.5 to 5.
03:05Researchers believe that these ridges may be linked to similar seismic activity.
03:11Now, about that bizarre shrinking of our natural satellite.
03:15Scientists believe the moon formed about 4.5 billion years ago
03:19when a Mars-sized object collided with early Earth.
03:23This catastrophic impact likely sent bunches of superheated material into space.
03:29Eventually, they came together and formed the moon.
03:32In its early years, the moon was just a molten world,
03:35shaking from intense volcanic and seismic activity.
03:40So, the moon used to be a molten mess floating through space.
03:44But when did it actually solidify?
03:47Scientists have finally figured it out.
03:504.43 billion years ago.
03:53This was a huge turning point, not just for the moon, but for Earth too.
03:58After all, the giant impact that formed the moon
04:01might have also been the final blow that made Earth stable enough to support life.
04:06In any case, billions of years passed.
04:09The moon gradually cooled and contracted.
04:12And now, look at this modern-day rocky sphere illuminating our night.
04:16But the moon isn't completely rigid yet.
04:19It still keeps cooling.
04:21And this slow cooling of its core might be one possible reason for the moon's continued activity.
04:27As it cools, the moon's interior contracts, which leads to cracks and shifts in the crust.
04:33One of the clearest signs of this contraction is found in the lunar maria.
04:38See these large, dark patches on the moon?
04:41Those are called maria, areas formed when lava filled ancient asteroid impact craters and then solidified.
04:48Then, over time, the cooling and contracting crust created these wrinkle ridges.
04:54Another factor of the ongoing geological activity
04:57could be the moon's gravitational interactions with Earth.
05:01Such non-stop powerful interactions likely create surface stress and trigger tectonic movements.
05:08It's all good and exciting.
05:10But can this activity on the moon actually affect humans?
05:14In a sense, it can.
05:16The moon has long been seen as a stable place for future bases and resource extraction.
05:22But the discovery of this ongoing geological activity is pretty worrying.
05:27If the surface is still shifting, future settlements, infrastructure, and mining operations could face serious risks.
05:35That's why, at the moment, we need seismometers and ground-penetrating radars to better understand these movements.
05:42It will allow us to assess potential dangers before any long-term missions begin.
05:47By the way, there's another potential problem future lunar missions might have to deal with.
05:53It's moon dust, a.k.a. regolith.
05:57Apollo astronauts quickly learned that this jagged, sticky dust gets everywhere
06:02and can damage suits, equipment, and even health.
06:06A new study from Texas A&M engineers found another problem.
06:10When rockets land or take off, they kick up regolith, which can become a collision hazard,
06:16especially with many spacecraft bringing crews and cargo to the moon.
06:21Lunar regolith comes in all sizes, from tiny dust particles to large rocks.
06:27The main ingredient in moon dust is fine silicate materials about 70 microns in size, like a human hair.
06:35They formed over billions of years as meteors and asteroids smashed into the moon's surface, grinding much of it into powder.
06:44Unlike Earth, the moon has almost no atmosphere.
06:48It's incredibly thin, so there's no wind or water to smooth out the dust.
06:53On top of that, constant exposure to solar wind has given the regolith an electrostatic charge,
06:59making it stick to anything it touches.
07:02Apollo astronauts quickly found this out the hard way.
07:06Moon dust clung to their suits, got trapped inside their landers, and stuck to everything.
07:11Worse, it became a health hazard, causing eye irritation and breathing problems inside their spacecraft.
07:18But at the moment, it seems like a problem for future us.
07:22A much more important issue is finding water to support future missions, and China is going to deal with it.
07:29It's getting ready for a big mission to look for hidden ice on the moon.
07:34As part of the Chang'e 7 mission in 2026, a flying robot will explore deep craters at the moon's south pole, where ice might be trapped.
07:44If they manage to confirm it, this could be a game-changer for future lunar missions.
07:50Astronauts will have a water source and even fuel for space travel.
07:55The mission is a key step in China's plan to land astronauts on the moon within five years.
08:01While signs of water have been found before, like in soil samples from Chang'e 5's probe and observations by NASA and Indian spacecraft,
08:10scientists believe that deep ice deposits are the real key to supporting future missions.
08:16The south pole of the moon has some incredibly deep craters, and experts think ice could be hiding inside them.
08:23The flying robot will try to explore one or more of these craters after landing.
08:29If it does find the ice, it could make long-term moon missions much cheaper and more practical, helping astronauts live and work on the moon.
08:38Some scientists also think that this discovery could offer us some clues about extraterrestrial life.
08:45In any case, whether we find water on the moon and learn to deal with that pesky dust or not, the recent discovery of those young lunar ridges is a game-changer.
08:56If the moon is still geologically active, it means we don't know as much about our closest neighbor as we thought.
09:03What else could the moon be hiding?
09:05Are we really prepared for the idea that this lifeless satellite might actually be more dynamic than we imagined?
09:12Future missions, which might not be as safe as we once believed, will probably show.
09:20That's it for today! So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
09:26Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!