The moon's gravity creates tides in the oceans which mixed water and brought early primitive life forms closer to continental shelves where they could colonize. Over time, these life forms evolved to breathe air and walk on land. The moon also influences Earth's climate, atmosphere, temperature gradients, and seasons. Its mass and momentum help stabilize Earth's tilt on its axis and keep its orbit around the sun stable, resulting in a relatively stable climate over millennia.
In all our searching of the universe, we’ve never seen another moon like ours. It's big, it's weird, and it has played a huge role in shaping our planet. But how did we get it? Every possible story points to cataclysm.
This episode originally ran on June 15, 2022. It is part of our Lost Worlds series exploring scientific mysteries buried in the deep past.
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