Get your wide field scope ready

[Luna-tic]

Saw this on weather.com. The premise is, "what if the Moon orbited at the same distance from Earth as the ISS?". Physics and orbital dynamics aside, the graphics are pretty nice. The video is Moonrise to Moonset, accelerated, with the Moon only 250 miles out.

https://weather.com/science/space/video/what-if-moon-orbited-at-same-height-as-iss

[Alien 13]

Nice, apart from the destruction it would cause..

Alan

[Mr Spock]

You wouldn't need a telescope for that. Though, high tide would be a bit rough

[Gina]

Would have to build an ark!

[NigeB]

If we're suspending physics & orbital dynamics, then I say let it come a little bit closer. After what seems like 2 months of solid cloud here, having something penetrate below the cloud base is probably the only chance of seeing something celestial in the near future...

[Alien 13]

We might actually get some manned Lunar missions if it was that close  and a maybe even a Moon base.

Alan

[Louis D]

I've got to think tide forces would rip the moon to shreds into a nice ring.  It would probably have some disastrous effects on the earth as well.

[SilverAstro]

' Roche limit '  > Google,  is handy here.

I wonder : how close could the moon be brought ( big rocket  or long time with ion thruster) such that a space elevator string ( á lá A. C. Clarke) could work ? Ah, engages brain : to the geostationary orbit, is that within Roche ???

Somewhere else on the forum (Facts) we were talking about how the moon is receding at 38mm/year. Could we stop that ( for future generations to continue seeing solar eclipses) with a long term ion thruster ? Hmmm.

 

[Mr niall]

Yeah but then we’d probably have to admit the moon landings were all faked. And I just can’t bear the thought of all those conspiracists.

[Alien 13]

It must have been closer than this long ago and it didn't break up into rings or did it? then re form.

Alan

[Luna-tic]

1 hour ago, Alien 13 said:

It must have been closer than this long ago and it didn't break up into rings or did it? then re form.

Alan

I think the current operative theory on the Moon's creation is that a smaller planetary-sized body impacted a primordial Earth and blasted material into orbit that eventually accreted into the Moon. It is true, though, that the distance is increasing between the two, as a result of tidal forces that are also decreasing the rotational velocity of Earth.

[Hertford Stargazer]

But if we are measuring distance from the center of the moon to ground then we'd be crushed 

[michaelmorris]

On 04/02/2018 at 20:09, Alien 13 said:

It must have been closer than this long ago and it didn't break up into rings or did it? then re form.

Alan

I think the current theory was it formed about 15,000 km from Earth. The ISS is somewhat closer!