The Moon is here to stay ...

Well, you have to consider that these are the same people who predicted flying cars by the end of the century...

I'm sure the moon can still be made to fall out of the sky with the right assistance.

The moons not going anywhere, not until the earth vanishes anyway.

brokenfingers said:

Well, you have to consider that these are the same people who predicted flying cars by the end of the century...

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The end of the LAST century. I fully expected to be driving one of those buggers by now.

Flying cars were always the most ridiculous thing. Imagine the drivers on the roads all around you today. It doesn't matter where you live. Would you really want those people piloting tonnes of steel in three dimensions instead of just two? At least now I'm safe from idiot drivers on the upper floors of buildings.

brokenfingers said:

Well, you have to consider that these are the same people who predicted flying cars by the end of the century...

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I believe some already exist, not in this end of the world though.

Science is good at predicting physical phenomena like this moon thing, not so much the rate of human progress. Flying cars really need an advanced autonavigation system to be integrated into mainstream life. Now that tech is starting to arrive:

http://www.engadget.com/2005/08/27/gm-will-launch-self-driving-car-in-2008/

The next step is to find an alternate fuel source. Friction takes enough gallons per mile to overcome as is. If you want to lift the car up and down? Not gonna happen on oil.

Space:1999 said it all.

Google "flying car" and hit "I'm feeling lucky".
Flying car that may or may not ever go into production, but it looks cool.

The Aptera doesn't fly, but it's close enough for me! I'm saving for the hybrid model. This beauty is a geek's wet dream!

They're supposed to use it in the next Trek film.

And the Popular Mechanics video report is quite fun.

Dulvarian_Eldritch said:

Google "flying car" and hit "I'm feeling lucky".
Flying car that may or may not ever go into production, but it looks cool.

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I've known about the Moller flying car since 1995 and I'm still waiting to see them in action. Legislation and public safety are the largest hurdles any flying car will have to get over before mass production can begin. Best if we just hook the damn things up to Google Earth and let the computer do the flying anyway. People scare me.

As for the moon, I'm sure a fair-sized chunk of rock could pulverize it for us. Maybe the moon will save the planet by taking one for the team. Of course, life on Earth without the moon could be pretty hairy.

ReneC said:

As for the moon, I'm sure a fair-sized chunk of rock could pulverize it for us. Maybe the moon will save the planet by taking one for the team. Of course, life on Earth without the moon could be pretty hairy.

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The discussion in this thread may be of interest.

brokenfingers said:

Well, you have to consider that these are the same people who predicted flying cars by the end of the century...

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What do you call a helicopter? o_o

Bartholomew said:

What do you call a helicopter? o_o

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Uhh...I call it a helicopter. Why, what do you call it?

yea, really big rock+moon equals dust, or a massively large moon that we orbit around... OH I JUST HAD AN IDEA FOR A STORY.

the moon due to having saved the earth from a large asteroid, has doubled in mass. but it increased so much that the earth now orbits the earth, and it drawing its atmosphere off. making the earth slowly uninhabitable.
not the spot i know but, where they hit they hit.

small axe said:

And if you watch the old movies about the Supercomputer that takes over the world etc ... an advanced computer is VERY BIG, with MANY FLASHING LIGHTS. And countless reels of magnetic tape spinning as the computer talks.

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That's because it's visually interesting. A box that sits there and seemingly does nothing would not be.

In any case, it would take something very unusual to make the Moon wander away, like some other planet passing nearby. And crashing into the Earth would be even more improbable.

Can we at least have the "cracked in half" moon of Thundarr the Barbarian?

Re

Here's something no one has considered pertaining to the whole moon thing.

Okay, in 50 billion years itll be lost because there isn't enough gravitational attraction between the Earth and Moon.

But, the Earth's mass is constantly increasing with falling meteors and comets etc. What if in a billion years the Earth has enough mass to start pulling the moon back towards it?

Just an idea.

Revelationz said:

Okay, in 50 billion years itll be lost because there isn't enough gravitational attraction between the Earth and Moon.

But, the Earth's mass is constantly increasing with falling meteors and comets etc. What if in a billion years the Earth has enough mass to start pulling the moon back towards it?

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Gravity doesn't change, and the mass of the earth doesn't change much either (about a million tons a day, which is nothing, less than one percent of the earth's mass in a hundred trillion years). The moon's orbit is steadily increasing due to tidal interaction with the earth--the earth loses angular momentum and the moon gains exactly what the earth loses. A few billion years from now this exchange will stop. By then a month will be 47 days or so (and with this synchronous rotation, a "day" will also be 47 days). If there are still any oceans, the earth's rotation will continue to slow due to solar tides, and the moon will start moving closer again, giving angular momentum back to the earth. Probably before that happens, the sun will boil up into a red giant and swallow the earth and moon, putting an end to this little dance. Some think there's a slight chance the earth might escape, but it won't matter much, with no atmosphere, no oceans, and a surface of molten lava.

Albedo said:

I'm sure the moon can still be made to fall out of the sky with the right assistance.

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Didn't you ever see Space 1999?

Are we behind or what?

dclary said:

Can we at least have the "cracked in half" moon of Thundarr the Barbarian?

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Me thinks the moon's gravity might have something to say about that.

Thundarr, right there with the Princess Ariel and Ookla the Mock who rode around on that mutated horse thingy. That's going way back.

Julie Worth said:

Gravity doesn't change, and the mass of the earth doesn't change much either (about a million tons a day, which is nothing, less than one percent of the earth's mass in a hundred trillion years). The moon's orbit is steadily increasing due to tidal interaction with the earth--the earth loses angular momentum and the moon gains exactly what the earth loses. A few billion years from now this exchange will stop. By then a month will be 47 days or so (and with this synchronous rotation, a "day" will also be 47 days). If there are still any oceans, the earth's rotation will continue to slow due to solar tides, and the moon will start moving closer again, giving angular momentum back to the earth. Probably before that happens, the sun will boil up into a red giant and swallow the earth and moon, putting an end to this little dance. Some think there's a slight chance the earth might escape, but it won't matter much, with no atmosphere, no oceans, and a surface of molten lava.

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I'm moving the day before that.