What If the Moon Disappeared Tonight?

The Moon is a dead rock. No air, no water, no life. And yet it might be the reason you exist. What would happen on the first night without it, and in the millions of years after? Follow Nova through the night the Moon vanishes: darker nights, confused animals, shrinking tides, broken natural clocks and a wobbling planet. 0:00 A dead rock? 0:29 A Perfect Balance 1:18 The Night It Vanished 3:31 The Slow Catastrophe 5:54 Why We're Lucky 6:48 The Twist 7:41 Look up If you could keep only one thing the Moon does for us, which one would you pick? Tell us in the comments. New question every week. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. Sources: NASA Science: Earth's Moon (moon.nasa.gov) Packer et al. (2011), Fear of darkness, the full moon and the nocturnal ecology of African lions, PLoS ONE Dacke et al. (2003), Insect orientation to polarized moonlight, Nature Laskar, Joutel & Robutel (1993), Stabilization of the Earth's obliquity by the Moon, Nature Lissauer, Barnes & Chambers (2012), Obliquity variations of a moonless Earth, Icarus Apollo Lunar Laser Ranging: the Moon recedes about 3.8 cm per year Bay of Fundy: tidal range up to about 16 m #space #moon #science