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Showing posts from February, 2012

The Fate of the Earth

There are many scenarios being presented that propose ways in which all life on Earth could be wiped out. Nuclear war, super-volcanoes and the old favourite a giant asteroid collision are all discussed, but one serious threat is never even considered. That threat is the breakdown of the balanced relationship of the Earth and Moon that ensures our continued survival. The moon is tethered to the Earth by an invisible bond of gravity that has many properties of which most people are unaware. We all know that it creates the tides but this connection is such that it anchors the moon so that the same face is always pointed Earthward. Because of the Earth’s greater mass its rotation has the effect of continually accelerating the moon in its orbit and causing it to slowly increase its distance from the Earth. The centre of gravity of the Earth/Moon system is actually about a thousand kilometres beneath the surface of the Earth and it creates many of the conditions necessary for life. As the Ea