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Moon - The moon is the closest, biggest, and brightest object in our night sky. After all, our moon is only 3.7 times smaller than Earth.

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How was the moon formed? - According to NASA, the moon was likely formed after a body the size of Mars collided with our planet. But what would the world be like if that had never happened?

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Tides would be smaller - Tides would be significantly smaller in amplitude without the gravitational force of the moon.

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Tides would be smaller - It is estimated that without the moon, tides would be only 40% as large as the average tides we have today.

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The tides would be controlled by the sun - Without the moon's gravitational pull, the tides would follow the sun instead.

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The tides would be controlled by the sun - This would mean that high and low tides would be at the same time every day. 

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The Earth’s axis would change - The moon keeps our planet somewhat stable. Without it, the Earth would wobble with the sun's gravitational pull. 

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The Earth’s axis would change - Earth's spin axis would be greatly affected by the absence of the moon. With unstable polar caps, our climate would potentially suffer major changes.

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Pitch black nights - Without the moon, the sky would be much darker at night. There would be no more beautiful moonlight.

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Dark nights - Venus is the next brightest object in the sky, though it's only 1/14,000th as bright as a full moon. Plus, a full moon is 12 times brighter than when it's in its quarters!

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Our planet would spin faster - Without the moon, Earth would spin faster, meaning that days would be shorter.

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Shorter days - If the moon had never existed, days would be around six to eight hours long.

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There would be no eclipses - Solar and lunar eclipses would cease to exist, as there wouldn't be a mass between the Earth and the Sun.

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Alternative eclipse - You'd have to wait for the transit of Venus to see a small eclipse. The last one happened in 2012, but it won't happen again until 2117.

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Creatures of the night - Without moonlight, many nocturnal animals would struggle to navigate at night.

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Evolution of species - Theses species would have to adapt and develop bigger and more sensitive eyes. 

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The oceans' levels would change - Without the gravitational force of the moon, water levels would change across the globe.

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The oceans' levels would change - Ocean water in the equator region would move toward the poles, considerably changing the planet's climate.

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Moon shield - The moon is constantly being bombarded by asteroids, so it's the perfect place to study these celestial bodies and the impact their collision can have.

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Asteroids and the moon - Although it's too small to actually protect our planet from big asteroids, the moon is very useful in studying these threats.

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Aquatic animals' reproduction - Some aquatic animals rely on moon cycles for reproduction purposes. The absence of the moon would greatly impact these animals.

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Aquatic animals' reproduction - Grunions' reproductive cycle, for instance, is aligned with lunar rhythms.

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There would be no space race - The race to the moon between the United States and the Soviet Union wouldn't have happened.

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First man on the moon - Neil Armstrong stepped into history July 20, 1969 by leaving the first human footprint on the surface of the moon. Moments like these would never have been part of our history.

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Moon cycles and menstruation - The fact that the lunar and menstrual cycles are about the same length is just coincidence.

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Moon cycles and menstruation - There is no evidence that the moon actually has any impact on menstruation. 

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What if the moon exploded? - If the moon was suddenly hit by a rogue planet—or worse—if we blew it up, our planet would suffer serious consequences.

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What if the moon exploded? - A ring of debris would likely form around the Earth and our planet would be hit by objects for many years.

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See also - You might also like: What would happen if the world stopped spinning?

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