🌔 What if the Moon were twice as close?
Tides about eight times stronger, a faster orbit, and huge eclipses.
Try it: Moon Distance Explorer
- Orbital period (Kepler)
- 27.4523 days
- Apparent size in sky
- 0.517808°
- Light travel time
- 1.28222 s
Assumptions: circular orbit around Earth, Moon diameter 3,474 km. Tides scale roughly as 1/distance³, so half the distance ≈ 8× the tidal force.
The science
Halving the Moon's distance (to ~192,000 km) makes tidal force — which scales as 1/distance³ — about eight times stronger. Kepler's law shortens its orbital period to about 9.7 days. Try the Moon Distance Explorer below.
Immediate consequences (modelled)
Far stronger tides and coastal flooding; the Moon would look twice as wide in the sky.
Possible long-term consequences (hypotheses)
Stronger tidal friction would push the Moon away faster and lengthen Earth's day more quickly.
Assumptions: Circular orbit, Keplerian period, tidal scaling ∝ 1/r³.
Limitations: Does not model climate, geology, biology or engineering in full detail.
Reference: NASA / peer-reviewed planetary science