Weather of Arabia - The moon was never just a celestial body that lights up our sky, there are many ways in which the moon forms the path of life on Earth, and affects the life cycles of many living creatures, so what is the moon? How does it affect life on Earth?
The Moon is the only satellite of the planet Earth, and the closest celestial body to it, with an average distance of 384,400 km from us. It is about a quarter smaller than the Earth, with the moon being 27% the size of the Earth.
The moon has a thin atmosphere that consists of several gases, and the temperature of the moon’s surface on the side opposite the sun is 130 degrees Celsius, while the face that is not facing the sun drops to 173 degrees below zero degrees Celsius. The moon is known to have a gravity less than one-sixth of the Earth's, meaning that the weight of objects is less than one-sixth on the surface of the moon.
The gravity of the moon, which is equivalent to one-sixth of the Earth's gravity, affects the waters of water bodies through the phenomenon of tides , where the seas and oceans rise temporarily during the tide towards coastal areas, in addition to the centrifugal force of the planet's rotation, which pushes the water to the edges.
At the islands , the level of seas and oceans drops from the coastal areas to a level lower than the normal level, as a result of the moon 's presence at the farthest point from the earth, and thus the effect of its gravity decreases.
The phenomenon of tides contributes to the movement of ocean currents that help to transfer thermal energy from the equator to the poles, which led to playing an important role in the succession and decline of ice ages, and in the migrations of animal and plant organisms on the surface of the earth, and thus helped the diversity and development of life.
The moon ’s gravity affects the regulation of the Earth’s rotation around itself, and this affects the number of hours of the day, as the Earth’s rotation speed has gradually decreased since its inception due to the moon’s gravity, and the number of hours on Earth has increased from 5 hours to 24 hours.
The Moon's gravity contributes to the stability of the tilt of the Earth's axis, which tilts at an angle of approximately 23.4 degrees, and this in turn helps the Earth to have a stable, multi-season climate. Without the presence of the Moon, the Earth's axis would continue to sway.
Man also depends on the moon and its phases In knowing the beginning and end of the lunar months, as the lunar month begins on the day the crescent is born, and this is of particular importance for Muslims in determining the beginning of the months related to the worship of fasting in the blessed month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, and the worship of Hajj in the month of Dhul-Hijjah.
The moon affects the Earth in three main ways: time, tides, and light. Many animals and birds depend on the moon and its phases in the timing of migration and reproduction, and there are many things on Earth that are affected by tides, in addition to the unique properties of moonlight.
Living organisms have a biological clock that is affected by the alternation of day and night that occurs due to the rotation of the earth around itself in relation to the sun, and the human biological clock may be easily disturbed after moving through long flights or when changing clocks.
But there is also a biological clock associated with lunar cycles and phases, which has effects on different types of living things. Some animals respond to the lunar clock in addition to the circadian rhythm of the alternation of day and night. Here are some examples of these organisms:
The jumping talitrus ( Talitrus saltator ) lives under the sands of the beach in the waterfront. These arthropods possess two types of sensors that help them navigate in the right direction between the beach and the sea, one of which is a solar compass located in the brain region, and a lunar compass found in the antennas of the antenna, thus knowing She has to stay buried under the sand during the day (so that she does not get exposed to the daylight and dry out), and at night she goes out to eat at low tide .
Mass spawning of corals on the Great Barrier Reef also occurs depending on the moon , as corals release billions of eggs and sperm into the sea for pollination to occur. The timing of coral spawning depends on several factors, including temperature, salinity and food availability, but it always occurs between October And December, right after the full moon .
Many birds time their migration before and after breeding according to the length of the day, such as the Barau bird ( Pterodroma baraui ), an endangered seabird that breeds on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. These birds wait 12.5 hours before setting off.
Their arrival dates at the breeding grounds vary each year, but the birds always arrive together at the full moon . This indicates that the birds use the moon and the length of the day to synchronize their migrations.
The tides are perhaps the most noticeable effect of the moon 's effect on Earth , and animals living in coastal habitats with high tidal ranges have adapted to these changes. Others are completely submerged or subjected to the blow of the waves.
Therefore, it required some modifications to these animals to be able to survive, as these mollusks developed a hard shell that covers and protects them, and the clams take advantage of the tidal cycles to obtain their food at low times, by scraping food from the surface of the rocks by a tongue-like structure covered with hundreds of teeth Small ( Clam teeth are the strongest biological material ever tested, 5 times stronger than spider silk and even stronger than man-made materials).
The changing levels of light that the Moon reflects in an amazing way affects life on Earth. Low light has led to a number of nocturnal adaptations in some organisms, and some organisms directly depend on moonlight for transportation and reproduction.
Also known as Mormon tea, ephedra foeminea is a wonderful Mediterranean plant and a group of ancient, flowerless plants that depended on insects for pollination . Because this plant does not have flowers or an attractive scent, it has developed an unusual technique to attract the attention of pollinating insects .
When the moonlight shines , each small cone produces droplets of liquid to help stick pollen to passing insects. These droplets sparkle under the moonlight , creating a shimmering display that attracts beetles and other nocturnal insects to the plant.
In Africa, under moonlight , the dung beetle ( Scarabaeus zambesianus ) uses the polarization pattern of moonlight and the way it propagates through the atmosphere to navigate in a straight line.
If the dung beetle encounters a new dung heap, it takes the dung ball and moves in a straight line as quickly as possible towards its burrow, because following a path other than the straight line lengthens the path and exposes it more to predators, or it may lose the dung ball to another beetle.
In recent research conducted in a laboratory in Sweden, scientists placed dung beetles under unpolarized artificial light and moved in circles, so they mainly depend on the polarization patterns of moonlight to navigate and orient themselves to reach safely home.
This means that as light pollution increases worldwide, organisms with nocturnal behaviors that depend on moonlight, other light sources may disrupt their behavior and lives.
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