Leah and Chelsea discuss the idea of destroying the moon with astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell and Haym Benaroya. They explore methods such as splitting it with lasers, explosives, and space tugs, and discuss the consequences of having moon fragments orbiting Earth. They also explore the impact of having two moons on tides and the visual aesthetics of the night sky.
The moon's brightness interferes with ground-based observing of deep space.
Various methods of destroying the moon were discussed, including explosives, lasers, and collisions with other celestial objects.
Deep dives
Hating the Moon
The podcast explores why Leah wants to destroy the moon, mentioning the moon's brightness interfering with ground-based observing of deep space.
Methods of Destruction
The podcast discuss various methods of destroying the moon, including explosives, lasers, and collisions with other celestial objects.
Consequences and Implications
The podcast considers the potential consequences of destroying the moon, such as changes in tides, reflection of light, and possible dangers from debris.
Leah finally takes on her arch-nemesis; the two-faced, arrogant, cold-hearted… moon. And despite her lunar love, Chelsea gets roped into the destruction. Together, they plot to crack it like an egg, vaporise it into nothingness and drill into it with a giant jackhammer… all while dodging the space police.
Our space marauders recruit the assistance of astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and Haym Benaroya at Rutgers University.
Dead Planets Society is a podcast that takes outlandish ideas about how to tinker with the cosmos – from punching a hole in a planet to unifying the asteroid belt. The hosts are Leah Crane and Chelsea Whyte.
If you have a cosmic object you’d like to figure out how to destroy, email the team at deadplanets@newscientist.com. Or if you just want to chat about this episode or wrecking the cosmos more generally, tweet @chelswhyte and @downhereonearth.