Our Moon is Shrinking!

[Em in Ohio]

Our beloved moon is shrinking and shaking. It has faultlines and moonquakes (like our earthquakes).
Scientists believe it is caused by the cooling of a partially molten iron core.

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/goddard/2019/moonquakes
The Moon is shrinking as its interior cools, getting more than about 150 feet (50 meters) skinnier over the last several hundred million years. Just as a grape wrinkles as it shrinks down to a raisin, the Moon gets wrinkles as it shrinks. Unlike the flexible skin on a grape, the Moon’s surface crust is brittle, so it breaks as the Moon shrinks, forming “thrust faults” where one section of crust is pushed up over a neighboring part."

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[RadishRose]

When I was little, I woke up for water and looked out at the moon. It was partially behind a light cloud, but it looked like it was melting. So that's what I thought it did every night and a new one came out the next night.

Unfortunately, I told my parents about this and they told me no, and wouldn't let me believe my theory.

Now, I find out it's wrinkling! But I can handle it now. Interesting moon fact, Em, thanks.

 

[Ruthanne]

Thanks for that Em. Very interesting--It seems it takes a long time to shrink (millions of years) so maybe there is hope for it yet. Things are always changing in the universe--they are in "flux." I don't believe we will see what will be the outcome for the moon but generations (if human beings survive) from now they may see more about it.

 

[Em in Ohio]

I always thought of the full moon as a giant pearl. Now, I know it is more of a wrinkled raisin. In an expanding universe, I was a bit shocked to learn of this moon contraction. I thought of my pearl as a stagnant, dead, beautiful rock - not a dynamic place like Earth!

 

[fmdog44]

The theory of the creation of the Moon is a huge meteor struck Earth and parts of the millions of rocks that resulted from the impact eventually came together by gravity and eventually became out Moon. So had that collision not occurred we would not be here.

 

[Em in Ohio]

The theory of the creation of the Moon is a huge meteor struck Earth and parts of the millions of rocks that resulted from the impact eventually came together by gravity and eventually became out Moon. So had that collision not occurred we would not be here.

This is the most popular theory, but there are others: https://www.space.com/19275-moon-formation.html

https://www.space.com/19275-moon-formation.html?jwsource=cl (Video)