The Moon Moving Further from Earth, IPB University Lecturer Explains Impact on Weather and Climate
The phenomenon of the Moon slowly moving away from Earth often triggers various speculations, ranging from climate change to impacts on human life. However, is this assumption true?
A lecturer from the Department of Geophysics and Meteorology at IPB University, Sonni Setiawan, SSi, MSi, explained that this phenomenon is related to the shape of the Moon’s orbital path, which is elliptical, not a perfect circle.
“The effect of the Moon moving away from Earth is a consequence of the Moon’s revolution orbit around the Earth, which is elliptical. There are times when the Moon is at the closest distance (perigee) and the farthest distance (apogee) in every period of the Moon’s revolution,” he explained.
A similar principle also applies to Earth’s orbit around the Sun, with perihelion events occurring in January and aphelion in July every year.
No Need to Worry
He emphasized that this astronomical phenomenon is a natural process and does not need to cause excessive worry. Regarding the impact on humans, the effect is not direct, but rather through certain mechanisms on Earth.
For example, ocean tides are the impact of the Moon’s gravitational force. The rise in sea level due to tides can impact fishermen’s activities and coastal areas.
“The phenomenon of the Moon moving away from Earth does not directly impact humans in daily life. Its impact is only felt through other mechanisms,” he stated.
Meanwhile, on the climate system, this phenomenon also does not provide a direct impact. “Regarding the climate system, it is not direct, because the duration of climate is yearly to tens of years,” he clarified.
According to him, one of the external factors that is more influential on the climate related to Earth’s orientation towards the Sun is the fluctuation of Earth’s orbital eccentricity, changes in obliquity (axial tilt) of Earth’s rotation, and changes in the precession of Earth’s rotational axis. The fluctuations of these three Earth orientations towards the Sun are known as the Milankovitch Cycles.
Each change in these components has a period. Changes in Earth’s orbital eccentricity occur every 100.000 years to 400.000 years, changes in Earth’s obliquity occur every 41.000 years, and changes in Earth’s precession occur every 26.000 years.
“These changes in Earth’s orientation cause changes in solar radiation received by Earth as the main energy source for Earth’s climate, so these changes affect Earth’s climate on a time scale of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years,” he elaborated.
Besides changes in Earth’s orientation towards the Sun, the constellation of planets in the solar system can change atmospheric conditions on Earth. When planets are in a conjunction position, the large resultant gravitational force can influence Earth’s atmospheric conditions.
“Planetary constellations in a state of conjunction can cause water vapor to rise, so the potential for cloud formation increases. Because planetary conjunctions occur on the order of hundreds of years and the effect is global, this can cause changes in the climate system,” he explained. (AS) (IAAS/HNF)
