The moon, the Earth's own satellite, has a larger impact on life on the planet than any other celestial body that holds our interest as astronomers. If you stop to think about it, we hold the moon in such high respect that, unlike the moons of other planets, which we give names, we just refer to it as THE moon. There is no moon here. It is the one and only moon to us.
The moon frequently influences our thoughts, our sentiments about romance, our poetry and literature, as well as how we feel about our daily life. Not only prehistoric cultures attribute mood swings, changes in social behavior, and weather variations to the moon. Even now, a full moon may still have a significant impact on these forces, which we recognize even if we are unable to scientifically explain them.
The ocean tides are the most visible natural occurrence that is directly impacted by the moon's gravity. The regulation of nautical life and the comings and goings of the fishing world in coastal villages are fundamentally influenced by the tides. However, not many people are aware that there may be tidal effects on inland bodies of water as well as on the solid earth at specific times of the year when the earth's orbits bring the sun and moon into proper alignment. Eons ago, when the moon's orbit was closer to Earth, the moon's influence was what led to significant changes in both continental drift and the morphology of the land. This illustrates the significant impact the moon has had on both the history of humanity and the history of the earth's geography.
You could occasionally ponder the moon's origin. Was it a planet that erred by passing too near to us and becoming entangled in our orbit? The moon, in fact, was thought to have formed as a result of a massive-scale collision with the still-forming Earth in the early stages of its evolution, which caused this enormous "chuck" to spin out into an orbiting entity. This explains the closeness in composition, which has been supported by several NASA moon exploration satellite missions.
The stabilizing of Earth's orbital pattern, however, is another significant impact the moon has had on Earth's evolution that is rarely acknowledged. Most people are aware that the Earth is not spherical, but rather resembles an egg. Simply put, the Earth would tremble. The tilt of the axis, or the polar caps, would move considerably with each yearly cycle without the moon's stabilizing effect, causing climacteric changes that are far more severe and extreme than humans are accustomed to. If the moon had not been there to "keep the Earth in line" and keep the Earth's orbital position consistent so that our temperature could remain stable and mild, it's likely that life as we know it would not have been able to evolve here.
That genesis, which was the result of a collision that "ripped" the moon's body away from the Earth's forming core, accounts for the moon's third major effect. The metals that are normally intact in the planet's core are actually dispersed in various ways up and down the earth's geography as a result of this disruption in how the planet's core formed. Normally, the planet's metals are all concentrated in the core. But because of the impact that sent the moon into orbit, it is now simple and inexpensive to harvest the metals that have been essential to the growth of our industrial and technological societies. Again, there is something for which we may be grateful because there is a beautiful moon in the sky.
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