Space & Astronomy

Iowa professor once suggested blowing up the Moon

By T.K. Randall
April 19, 2022

Image: Full Moon
Credit: Gregory H. Revera / CC BY-SA 3.0 (adapted) Ever since the chaotic early years of the solar system, the Moon has remained the constant companion of our planet - but what would things be like if there was no Moon ?

Back in 1991, Alexander Abian - a mathematics professor at Iowa State University - put forward what he called the "Moonless Earth Theory". In it, he suggested that destroying our lunar neighbor could provide a range of advantages that would benefit our lives here on Earth.

The basis for this idea was that doing so would eliminate the planet's wobble (and the seasons along with it), thus ensuring stable weather and removing extreme winds, blizzards, droughts and more.

To achieve such a feat, he suggested drilling a hole in the lunar surface and planting a nuclear device deep down in the Moon's interior (a bit like the movie Armageddon).The idea is, of course, quite preposterous - not least due to the insurmountable damage it would likely do to the world's climate and wildlife.

On top of this, blowing up the Moon would likely send huge amounts of lunar debris raining down upon us and could even destabilize Earth's orbit around the Sun.

It's also (at least for now) completely impractical and sounds more like the diabolical plan of a James Bond villain than something that would ever be done with the expectation of a positive outcome.

In other words, it's a definite 'hard pass' on this one.

Source: IFL Science

Tags: Moon, Earth