Earth Moon Collision?

[Butters]

If the Earth and Moon collided at a point, antipodal to your location. Would you experience any gravitational effects of the increased mass resulting from collision before the impact ended you?

 

[Deckerd]

Since the moon is a chunk of the Earth which is now being pushed away from it, the chances are more likely that something else really big hits us.

 

[Butters]

Since the moon is a chunk of the Earth which is now being pushed away from it, the chances are more likely that something else really big hits us.

Its a hypothetical question abouth nature of gravity and our experience of it.

The moon hitting us is extremely unlikely, but if it did, what would we feel first? Heavier because of the Earth's sudden increase in mass, or death from the resulting shockwave demolishing its way around the globe?

 

[SilentP]

Well, in your scenario, we'd start feeling heavier before the moon even hits the Earth, as the Moon gets closer to the surface, it's own gravitational field would start having a greater effect in any case, since it's now closer to you.

 

[Squiggy]

Chances are we'd all be dead long before the impact.

 

[FordSVT]

I'd imagine the tidal forces caused by it's proximity would end life on Earth as we know it long before the Moon actually hit us. Planet bulging, continents cracking, widespread volcanic activity, that sort of thing.

 

[Brent]

What if you were in space, like on the space station?

 

[CaptainStoner]

I'd imagine the tidal forces caused by it's proximity would end life on Earth as we know it long before the Moon actually hit us. Planet bulging, continents cracking, widespread volcanic activity, that sort of thing.

Dogs and cats living together, MASS HYSTERIA!!!

 

[Squiggy]

What if you were in space, like on the space station?

The change in gravity would knock the ISS out of orbit.

 

[PurpleBuddha]

I thought the ISS had a defector dish.

 

[Mike Farley]

I thought the ISS had a defector dish.

Well then, all they have to do is alter the gravitational constant of the universe and they can push the moon back where it belongs.

 

[Skywalker]

I thought the ISS had a defector dish.

Well then, all they have to do is alter the gravitational constant of the universe and they can push the moon back where it belongs.

Wouldn't they have to reverse the polarity before they could do that?

 

[Broccoli]

I thought the ISS had a defector dish.

Well then, all they have to do is alter the gravitational constant of the universe and they can push the moon back where it belongs.

Wouldn't they have to reverse the polarity before they could do that?

Only after they put their weapons at maximum.

 

[Warp Rider]

"Shields! SHIELDS!" lol

 

[Brent]

I thought the ISS had a defector dish.

who's defecting ? the station itself? is it going to live with another planet

 

[Joshua Howard]

Well, in your scenario, we'd start feeling heavier before the moon even hits the Earth, as the Moon gets closer to the surface, it's own gravitational field would start having a greater effect in any case, since it's now closer to you.

Heavier? Wouldn't we feel slightly lighter (on the side of the earth nearest impact), as the gravitational pull of the moon strained against that of Earth?

I suppose there is also the question of how fast the moon is coming in; are we talking a slowly deteriorating orbit over the course of days, disaster over the course of hours, or a missile-like attack involving the moon being hurled at us?

Well, no doubt it would create a big crunch either way; but the longer it took to come, the more it would obviously mess with tides.

If the moon slowly zeroed in on us over the course of, say, a month (don't ask how) I wonder what that would do to our weather after a week or two.

...as if the moon could actually do that. Wrath of Neptune, anyone?

 

[SilentP]

Well, in your scenario, we'd start feeling heavier before the moon even hits the Earth, as the Moon gets closer to the surface, it's own gravitational field would start having a greater effect in any case, since it's now closer to you.

Heavier? Wouldn't we feel slightly lighter (on the side of the earth nearest impact), as the gravitational pull of the moon strained against that of Earth?

Ah, I understood the question to be if we were on the other side of the planet. Whoops. In that case, yeah, we would start getting lighter, though I don't think it would be that noticeable until it was closer (remember Lunar's surface gravity is only 1/6g).

A question, depending on the velocity of Lunar's descent, would there be a possibility of being crushed by a pressure wave, as it starts displacing atmosphere?

 

[Joshua Howard]

A question, depending on the velocity of Lunar's descent, would there be a possibility of being crushed by a pressure wave, as it starts displacing atmosphere?

Assuming that Earth's atmosphere from ground to space is 26 miles, and moon's diameter is around 2100 miles, we are talking about some massive air displacement.

The logic here seems to suggest to me that the air displaced in the upper atmosphere hits the ground at roughly the same speed over, say, a 2500 square mile area and expanding until impact.

If the moon is coming in at around 300 miles an hour, the downward wind gust would probably be sufficient to kill folks outside and those in wood structures. Slow it down a whole lot, and the blast isn't going to be much worse than a bad hurricane. At that speed, it is only 5 minutes before the moon hits, and I imagine that the disturbance would create deadly heat even sooner.

It seems that the basic situation would give people enough time to come outside and panic, go back inside and watch shingles and trash cans blow around for a couple minutes, before finally being incinerated and flattened. Kind of an uncool thought, but if Hollywood reads this thread, we just might get to see it happen on the big screen.

2-5 minutes is the perfect length for a movie teaser.

 

[Balthier the Great]

well, fortunetly, Nasa is planning a preemptive strike this morning... what could possibly go wrong with a preemptive strike? ...Oh crap...

 

[Joshua Howard]

^ I can just imagine the President trying to explain to Congress and the U.N. security council why the moon is gone.