Study says the moon is slowly drifting further from Earth

It’s widely known that the moon – our Earth’s natural satellite – is responsible for the creation of tides on Earth, or the gravitational interaction between the two is anyway.

The side of our planet facing the moon has its oceans pulled by lunar gravitational forces creating a tidal bulge on one side. On the other side, meanwhile, another bulge forms from the inertia of water resisting the pull. As the Earth rotates, these bulges create high and low tides in sequence throughout our oceans, but you knew that already.

What you may not have known, however, is that because Earth rotates faster than the moon’s orbits, the bulges manifest slightly ahead of the moon’s position. This misalignment creates a disparate gravitational pull on the moon adding angular momentum to its orbit which pulls it upwards – on a trajectory which angles further away from Earth.

It’s also believed that the constant incremental shift from the moon is somewhat attributable to energy transferred from Earth.

As tidal bulges are dragged around Earth, friction is created which converts rotational energy into heat energy. The ensuing energy deficit in Earth’s rotation supposedly becomes the moon’s gain, and the surge of orbital momentum causes it to move higher in Earth’s orbit.

The relationship between the moon and Earth can influence climate and weather patterns – including long-term climate cycles which influence major events like ice ages – tectonic activity and volcanic processes, and the prosperity of marine ecosystems and coastal environments.

All of these effects are unfolding over extremely long timescales, meaning we probably won’t experience any drastic changes in our lifetime. It is fascinating, nonetheless, to understand the dynamic nature of our planetary system and celestial mechanics at play.