Moon Is Moving Away From Us | COSMOS in a minute #44

Our Moon is slowly receding away from us at a rate of 3.8 centimeters per year. This is because of the tidal forces between the Moon and Earth, and the process has been going on for billions of years. The Moon's recession is causing the tides to get smaller, the Earth's rotation to slow down, and the length of a day to get longer. In the far future, it could even lead to the disappearance of the tides altogether. This will have an impact on marine ecosystems, especially those organisms which depend on the tidal rhythms. Furthermore, a point will come when the Moon has distanced itself to such an extent that a total solar eclipse will no longer be possible for the Sun-Earth-Moon system. Though gradual over millions of years, these changes underscore our dynamic planetary system's constant evolution. For more videos of Cosmos in a minute, follow The Secrets of the Universe.