What Happens If the Moon Crashes Into Earth

What actually happens if the Moon falls toward Earth? A stick figure stands on a beach and watches, with a danger meter that starts at Probably Fine and doesn't stay there. In this video: why the Moon is already falling right now, how strong the tides get as it closes in, why Earth's ground would start to bend, the exact distance where the Moon breaks apart, and what hits us instead of the Moon. Chapters (re-time these to your final cut): 0:00 The Moon starts to fall 0:30 The Moon is already falling 0:57 Standing on the beach: the tides 1:44 When the ground starts to bend 2:14 The breaking point 3:01 We've watched this happen: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 3:39 The ring 4:15 Look at the Moon again Sources: NASA/JPL, The Apollo experiment that keeps on giving, 2019 (the Moon drifting away 3.8 cm a year): https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/the-apo... NOAA Ocean Service, What causes tides and tidal currents (the Moon's pull is about twice the Sun's): https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/educati... SUNY Lumen Learning, Tidal Waves (high tides about every 12 hours and 25 minutes): https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sun... Astronomy magazine, Ask Astro, 2023 (the tidal force formula): https://www.astronomy.com/science/ask... Universe Today, How Close Can Moons Orbit? (the Roche limit and the ring): https://www.universetoday.com/article... Universe Today, How Could We Destroy the Moon?: https://www.universetoday.com/article... ScienceABC, Can Earth's Gravity Break The Moon Apart?: https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/uni... BBC Sky at Night Magazine, Roche limit explained: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/sp... Science Notes, Roche Limit: https://sciencenotes.org/roche-limit-... NASA NSSDC, Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary... NASA Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio, Comet Strike: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11263 NASA/JPL, Scientists: Io's volcanoes are in the wrong spot (tidal flexing, Voyager 1979): https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/scienti... EarthSky, Sky measurements: degrees, arcminutes and arcseconds, 2023: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essent... NASA Night Sky Network, Measure the Night Sky: https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/news/236 Smithsonian Magazine, citing NASA (Phobos torn apart in 30 to 50 million years): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-... This video is for entertainment and general education. The Moon is moving away from Earth, not toward it, and nothing known could make it fall. The numbers come from the published sources above, and some are my calculations from them. Next video: what happens if the Earth stops spinning, and the air doesn't. #moon #space #whathappensif