What If The Moon Was At The Same Distance As The International Space Station?

Ever wondered what would come about if the Moon was as skinny to Earth as the International Space Station ( ISS ) ? Well enquire no more , thanks to this YouTube telecasting .

It was created by the channelyeti dynamicsback in 2013 , but has been doing the rounds again after being posted onReddit . It show what would happen if , rather than being at its current length of 380,000 kilometers ( 238,000 miles ) on median , it was in reality just 420 kilometers ( 260 Roman mile ) away from us .

“ At this length , the Moon would rise in the westward and set in the eastern United States , ” the television description notes . “ ordinarily the Moon orb much dim than the earth spread out so it spring up in the east and sets in the W , however at 420 km it revolve much faster , faster than the earth rotates underneath , therefore it will rise in the W and set in the east . ”

The ISS is a paltry 109 meters ( 356 feet ) across , so at its space we see it as just a touch in the sky . The Moon , on the other hand , is a rather more cumbrous 3,474 kilometers ( 2,159 miles ) across . At its closer emplacement , it would patently completely dominate the sky .

Astronomer Phil Plait , writing forSlatein 2013 , remark that the Moon would fill more than half the sky . It would also seem to rotate , although it would really still be tidally lock to our planet like it currently is . And some Earthlight would reflect onto the Moon , except for where the Moon block the Sun .

“ The movement in the video is rush up ; at that distance the Moon would orbit the Earth in about 90 minutes or so , ” he writes . “ It would cut across the sky in very roughly five minute . ” However , he also mention that Nick – the video ’s creator – say he unexpectedly rendered the Moon upside down .

Of naturally , in reality , if the Moon was in reality this close it would break apart due to gravitational forces , and it would probably have a passably fatal effect on Earth . Still , it ’s fun to envisage what might happen .

Yeti dynamics has made some other interesting video recording too , include what if   the Moon was replaced byother planetsand helping out on a vsauce video about the Moon being adisco ball , so check those out if this has offend your interest .