Note from the Editor:
This article was kindly written for the SDC by member @Doctor Alan.

In an ever-changing world with doubts about climate change, a multitude of senseless conflicts, and the consequent possibility of complete annihilation, it appears that one thing we can rely on is that the Moon will always come around just the way it is.

Well, even this ain’t necessarily so, folks.



How was the Moon formed?

The latest and apparently indisputable theory of how our Moon came about is that a Mars-sized asteroid (astronomers have named it ‘Theia’) collided with the Earth at a glancing blow, causing a string of debris that encircled our embryo planet. This debris eventually coalesced into a single body – the Moon. The theory was arrived at due to the geology of the Moon compared with that of the Earth. They are similar but not identical, meaning that they were both derived from the same source when the Solar System was formed.

The effect of gravity (please note that I don’t use the term ‘force’ when it comes to gravity – I try to give credit to Einstein!) coalesces the fragments formed over millions of years, eventually forming the Moon. At this time (when the Earth was a primaeval ooze), the Moon was really close to the Earth, and the tides were a fair bit higher. Some ‘experts’ say ‘hundreds of times’ higher, while many others dispute that.

All we can really say is that tides were a lot higher because the Moon was a lot closer.




Why is only one face of the Moon facing the Earth?

The gravitational effect causes the Moon to distort – becoming more ovoid. The pointy end of the ‘egg’ is a little closer to the Earth, so it tends to stay that way. Over many millions of years, it stabilises to always stay oriented in the same direction. There are many other moons in the solar system in various stages of this ‘tidal lock’, so it’s not a peculiarity of our moon.

Of course, if you’re a believer in some almighty experiment, you can say that the far side of the Moon is a deliberate challenge to the human race to solve a problem and ignore the science behind it!

Why can we see craters on the Moon directly in line with Earth?

The Moon hasn’t always been in ‘tidal lock’ with the Earth. It used to rotate. Those craters are many millions of years old.



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