Life because of Moon?

Science and Technology
1

This documentary implies that life evolved on Earth because of the Moon and might not exist without it.
Moon Mysteries Investigated - National Geographic

If that is true then what does it imply about the probability of life elsewhere?
psik

2
This documentary implies that life evolved on Earth because of the Moon and might not exist without it. Moon Mysteries Investigated - National Geographic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzHicjqgvUA If that is true then what does it imply about the probability of life elsewhere? psik
That a large stabilizing and comet interfering moon would be a very good thing to have around. Thanks for the tip on that video, gonna check that our in short order. Of course, having a giant like Jupiter stabilizing and patrolling the out field helped quite a bit also, from what I've read.
3
This documentary implies that life evolved on Earth because of the Moon and might not exist without it. Moon Mysteries Investigated - National Geographic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzHicjqgvUA If that is true then what does it imply about the probability of life elsewhere? psik
I've heard this theory before but it makes a lot of assumptions that may not be true. The moon is closer in size to the earth than any other moon in the solar system is to its planet. If life requires a moon around the planet that isn't a big deal since most planets have a moon but if it requires a moon that is 1/4 the size of its neighbor then the odds will likely go down quite a bit. I think its a bit premature to bet on this theory though. We only have one sample of what type of system can lead to life. We are far from experts on the subject.
4
This documentary implies that life evolved on Earth because of the Moon and might not exist without it. Moon Mysteries Investigated - National Geographic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzHicjqgvUA If that is true then what does it imply about the probability of life elsewhere? psik
I've heard this theory before but it makes a lot of assumptions that may not be true. The moon is closer in size to the earth than any other moon in the solar system is to its planet. If life requires a moon around the planet that isn't a big deal since most planets have a moon but if it requires a moon that is 1/4 the size of its neighbor then the odds will likely go down quite a bit. I think its a bit premature to bet on this theory though. We only have one sample of what type of system can lead to life. We are far from experts on the subject. Two different things going on here. It doesn't matter about other places, this theory is about here and us. As for claiming life as we know it could not have happened without the moon, seems to me that's a slam dunk! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A ton of learned thought (driven by evidence) has gone into this supposition, which I believe has been elevated to "theory" due to accumulating reinforcing evidence. * Gravity and the stabilizing effect of the Moon on Earth's orbit. Think of the way the Moon's rotation is locked into Earth's . . . think canoes with outriggers. * Moon helping intercept near Earth "flyby comets, etc." before another chance at hitting Earth {again gravity - the advantage of big brother, no disputing that.} * Beyond that this Moon was originally very close in to a fast spinning Earth, TIDAL EFFECTS were unimaginable, literally 100s of meters and higher tides sweeping over the Earth's surface a couple times every day, during a time when the days were of shorter duration. Also consider continents during Earth's first four billion years, that is before plants conquered it's surface. Nothing held down, nothing but sand, soil didn't exist. * Imagine all of Earth's growing continents having the same basic landscape, first island arcs crashing together, then mountain building… lots of mountain building... then erosion… lots and lots of erosion... Erosion, wind, gravity, water dominated continents with millions of square miles of "tidal zones", and these huge tidal waves that were literally hundreds of meters worth of a wall of water smashing against mountains, imagine the massive erosion and rock grinding and mineral sorting, etc, etc…. * None of that could have happened without the moon's tidal influence on Earth's growing continents. And none of later life would have been possible without that grinding that exposed these minerals to biological action and lots and lots and lots of it, even during the first "boring billions"! * Speaking of mountains, the reason for mountains is Earth's drifting tectonic plates. the force behind continental drift is Earth's interior furnace, it is heated by pressure and radioactive material within it's mantle. * Getting back to a young Earth with it's huge, very huge, rapidly orbiting neighbor. An intrusive neighbor that fortunately drifted ever further away. The moon's tidal forces pulled on Earth's interior and it's hard to image how that constant kneading didn't have a profound impact on early tectonic plate formation. In other words, the moon was probably quite influential in determining the character of Earth's current tectonic plates and situation... which in turn played it's part in creating life on this planet. Folds within folds of harmonic cumulative poetry in motion
5

citizen I wont pretend to be a planetary astronomer but this is far from a slam dunk. I dont believe its not considered a slam dunk among people who are expert in this field.

  1. The moon does stabilize our planet but if you look around neither Venus nor Mars is flying off into space or in eccentric orbits. Whether the effect the moon has on the earths orbit is essential for life is unknown.
  2. The moon does not intercept all near earth comets and asteroids. It only intercepts a small percentage of such objects. Most such objects which are on a collision course will not be intercepted. Having he moon offers some protection but we have no evidence that such protection is the difference between life and no life. That’s an assumption.
  3. According to current theory the earth was spinning fast because Thea hit it with a glancing blow which created the moon. The tidal forces have since slowed the earth down and flung the moon further away but if Thea had not hit in the first place the earth would not have been rotating faster. Even if this weren’t the case there is no reason to believe that life could not have evolved just fine on a very different world with a faster rotation.
    The Moon has clearly had a significant effect on the earth but the suggestion that the conditions necessary for life to arise would not have existed without the moon is a stretch when we aren’t even sure what those conditions are. That requires far too many assumptions to be considered anything close to a “slam dunk”
6
The Moon has clearly had a significant effect on the earth but the suggestion that the conditions necessary for life to arise would not have existed without the moon is a stretch when we aren't even sure what those conditions are. That requires far too many assumptions to be considered anything close to a "slam dunk"
life leaves a wide spectrum of possibilities. I think you're ignoring the down to Earth importance and impacts of that list up there, and I'm talking complex life, you know allowed to follow long and stable evolutionary paths - not any old slim. Now that I've had the chance to watch the video, I'll admit it was nice for Paula to see my talking points repeated. But then it was a story based on the findings and theories that have been getting reported on for quite a while now.
7
I think its a bit premature to bet on this theory though. We only have one sample of what type of system can lead to life. We are far from experts on the subject.
If you watch the video there is more to it than having a Moon or not. The reason the Moon is so big is the result of the impact that created it. But that impact is also what gave the Earth its tilt. And then the Moon was a lot closer when it first formed. So this created much greater tidal effects. Supposedly the Earth rotated faster because of the impact but then the tidal effects slowed it down some. But then what is the explanation for Mars having a rotational velocity very similar to the Earth's. Curious universe! psik