Moon is slowly moving away from Earth. Here’s why

Scientists have found that Moon is slowly drifting away from Earth at a rate of 3.8 cm per year.

Experts at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) made the discovery thanks to Apollo-mission era reflective panels that were installed on the Moon in 1969. It allowed them to measure the distance between the panels and the Earth, according to reports.

Notably, this behaviour has already been predicted, but at the rate which it has been happening has left scientists startled.

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According to experts, about 2.46 billion years ago, Moon was about 60,000 kilometres closer to Earth than it is now. This means that there was a time when Earth used to receive sunlight for about 17 hours a day.

Why has the Earth's spinning inner core slowed down compared to the surface?

However, there is a scientific explanation to this phenomenon. It’s called “Milankovitch cycles".

According to NASA, "Milankovic cycles" are small changes that occur in the Earth's orbit around the Sun, changing the amount of sunlight the planet receives.

This in turn influences the kind of climate Earth has and can dictate periods of wet or dry weather.

Milankovitch cycles have previously been responsible for a period of greening in the Sahara desert and their forces have been known to impact the size of lakes on Earth. These cycles also determine the distance between the Moon and the Earth.

Though the effect of these cycles needs to be carefully studied, one of the notable effects it could have on Earth would be tidal changes.

As the Moon moves further away from Earth, the strength of this pull decreases, causing significant impact on shipping and fishing which rely on tidal patterns.

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