IF MOON BECAME DOUBLE OF ITSELF

 

This is a full Moon Night,imagine you are on the rooftop of your house and counting stars with your dog. Suddenly your eyes get on the moon and it is looking very unusual than before. It's bigger and even brighter. The scene is so breath-taking and you are enjoying it to the fullest. But suddenly something happens that you may have never imagined. Well, want to know what would happen next?

Don't worry we're are here for this query and this is What will happen if Moon becomes double of itself?

Now before  starting we want to tell you that this phenomena can take place in 3 ways and we'll be explaining all the 3 conditions here. So hold tight all the werewolves and we are ready for another "IF IT HAPPENS!"

1. IF THE DENSITY BECOMES THE TWICE AND THE VOLUME IS CONSTANT

The first to look at the topic is to increase its density by keeping the size same. Though there will be no big visible changes on Moon but this will definitely have a huge impact on Earth's and Moon's physics.

In this case ,we are increasing the density of the Moon keeping the volume constant, then the mass of the Moon will be directly depending on its density. And as the mass increases , there will be an increase in the gravitational force of attraction between the Earth and the Moon. Now this might look as  this would be changing the orbital path of the moon but this is not the case. This is explained below:

 According to the Newton’s law of universal gravitation 

Fg = GMm/r^2

here: 

 G is the universal gravitation

 M is the mass of the Earth

 m is the mass of the Moon

 r is the distance between the Earth and Moon 

 Now the moon revolves around the Earth without crashing into it. This is because the Gravitational force of attraction between the two is countered by the equal and opposite Centripetal Force. And the centripetal force is

 Fc = mv^2/r

Where Fc is the centripetal force

m is mass of the moon

v is orbital velocity of moon

 Now Fg = Fc we get:

 GMm/r^2 = mv^2/r

Solving for v, the orbital velocity of the Moon, we get:

v^2 = GM/r

We can clearly say here that the mass of the Moon has been canceled out. So mass of the Moon has no impact on its Orbit.

So if we increase the mass of the Moon, it will not change its orbit. But if we want Moon to leave its orbit or crash into Earth then we will have to alter its Orbital velocity and mass of the moon will not be playing any role in it.

 Now coming back to the topic, let us discuss what are the physical consequences of the increased moon's  Gravitational pull on Earth. The sudden increase in Moon's gravity will cause more movement of tectonic plates causing high magnitude earthquakes and large Tsunami waves. Tides are caused by the Moon's gravity and now if moon's gravity has increased so will the tidal waves (more violent and high waves). Moons's gravity also has an impact on on Earth's rotation. The Moon's gravitational pull slows down the Earth’s rotation, in a phenomenon known as "tidal braking" at a rate of 2.3 milliseconds . So increasing in its mass will slow down the earth's rotation also causing a slightly longer days. Another effect would be change in our weather patterns . As this will affect the air currents, so we will be observing some climatic changes

2. INCREASING THE SIZE AND MASS WITH UNIFORM DENSITY

  

This can happen in 3 ways. If that's twice the volume, then the Moon's mass doubles. If it's twice the surface area, then the mass quadruples. And if it's twice the radius, it becomes 8 times. Now this case would be having similar physical consequences on Earth as above case. But some additional things would be happening this time. 

A. Our nights would be much more brighter as the moon will reflect more light from sun due to its increased surface area.

B. We'll be able to see craters on the moon without using any telescope.

C. Total solar eclipses would be much more common.

D. There'd be no annular solar eclipse(ring shaped eclipse).

E. Total Lunar eclipse would be less common.

3. IF ITS SIZE BECOMES DOUBLE WITHOUT GETTING HEAVIER

Now this is the condition that is least likely to be happened. You might think that there would be no harm. In fact, this will be a beautiful scenery to enjoy. Now this will definitely not be the case. Your sweet dream will get converted into a horrible nightmare and the results would be catastrophic. This is because only Moon's size has been doubled without getting heavier. As a result it would collapse on its own because of its own gravity and if this happens, a large amount of massive chunks of rocks will spread in the space. And under the influence of earth's gravitational field, they will be heading towards the Earth. So instead of getting a Full Moon night, what we'll get is a Meteor Shower Apocalypse.

We hope you got your answers. Make sure to give your feedback by commenting down below

 Thank you for reading :)