The Moon is Moving Away From Earth. Will It Eventually Be Gone Altogether?

A question appeared on Quroa stating, “If the Moon is gradually moving farther away from us, will it eventually go away altogether, and when is that likely to happen?”

Quora is a site where people ask all kinds of questions and are answered by whoever that wishes to answer.

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An Aerospace engineer Robert Frost answered the question and said that even though Moon is moving away from Earth, it will not do it forever. Adding, “We have to consider why the Moon is moving away at around 1.5 inches (3.78 cm) per year – a force is necessary to cause that. The Moon exerts a tidal force on the Earth, causing a bulge. But, because the Earth rotates, that bulge is not directly between the Earth and Moon. It is slightly in front. That bulge has a gravitational pull on the Moon, causing it to move forward, slightly faster.”

Now the force is gravitational but with distance gravity will decrease thus the Moon movement from Earth will decrease with time.

Another person Wayne Francis said, “No. The Moon is receding because of tidal interactions. The Moon pulls on the water in the oceans making it bulge but the Earth is rotating causing this bulge to lead The Moon.”

Michael Blitz, Preschool teacher, poet, martial artist, amateur linguist said, “The Moon will never break free gravitationally from the Earth… at least, not before the expanding red giant Sun swallows both bodies in about 5 billion more years.”