Simulation Shows What Would Happen If The Moon Hit Earth

Skip to main content

CLOSE

Thank you!

We have emailed you a PDF version of the article you requested.

Can't find the email?

Please check your spam or junk folder

CLOSE

IFLScience HomeIFLScience logo

Simulation Shows What Would Happen If The Moon Hit Earth

Complete the form below to listen to the audio version of this article

31486EmailCountryPlease ChooseAustraliaCanadaUnited KingdomUnited StatesAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFiji IslandsFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern territoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyIvory CoastJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoNorth MacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth KoreaNorthern IrelandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaSaint HelenaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTajikistanTanzaniaThailandThe Democratic Republic of CongoTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.Wallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweReady to spark your curiosity? Get our newsletter full of awesome, inspiring, and strange science.You can unsubscribe at any time. View ourprivacy policy and terms below.Please ChooseYesNoaudio

Listen

Cancel and go back

IFLScience needs the contact information you provide to us to contact you about our products and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time.

For information on how to unsubscribe, as well as our privacy practices and commitment to protecting your privacy, check out ourPrivacy Policy

Ad

  • Support Science Journalism

    Become a member

    UPGRADE
  • account

    MY ACCOUNT

  • exit

    SIGN OUT

  • account

    MY ACCOUNT

  • THE VAULT

  • MAGAZINE

  • exit

    SIGN OUT

article image
Probably not a fun scenario for life on our planet. Kudos/YouTube.
more-icon

DOWNLOAD PDF VERSION

SHARE

facebook-icontwitter-iconreddit-iconflipboard-iconbluesky-icon

FOLLOW

Follow on google news iconGoogle prefered source badge

It’s a good thing it’s probably never going to happen, because if the Moon hit Earth, it doesn’t look like it would be good news. This neat simulation from YouTuber Max Mayer was made in Universe Sandbox 2, and shows what would happen if the Moon hit Earth head-on.

The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

In the simulation, the impact of the Moon causes Earth to become an uninhabitable ball of molten rock pretty quickly. Each second in the video corresponds to sixty minutes of real time, and it seems to be just a matter of hours until all life on Earth would probably be extinguished after the impact.

While interesting, it’s not entirely accurate and is merely a bit of fun. For one thing, there should be a large chunk of Earth missing where the Moon hit. Consider that the Moon itself was probably formed by the resultant debris blasted out from our planet when a Mars-sized object hit Earth 4.5 billion years ago or so.

Still, it's pretty fun to watch. Check out the simulation below.

clock-iconORIGINALLY PUBLISHEDOctober 25, 2015

Written by Jonathan O'Callaghan

comments iconDiscuss (20 CommentS)comments iconDiscuss (20 CommentS)

SHARE

facebook-icontwitter-iconreddit-iconflipboard-iconbluesky-icon

FOLLOW

Follow on google news iconGoogle prefered source badge

Add us as a Google preferred source to see more of our trusted coverage in Search

link to article

NASA Reveals The Surprisingly Fancy Meals Artemis II Astronauts Will Be Eating On Their Mission Around The MoonNASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Moon in the background.space-iconSpace and Physics

NASA Reveals The Surprisingly Fancy Meals Artemis II Astronauts Will Be Eating On Their Mission Around The Moon

clock-icon31 minutes ago

link to article

The Sun's "Helium Glitch" Reveals Differences In Solar Activity Over 40 Yearstwo views of the sun. One with little activity and the other with a lot.space-iconAstronomy

The Sun's "Helium Glitch" Reveals Differences In Solar Activity Over 40 Years

clock-icon1 hour ago

link to article

The Cube-Square Law: Why We'll Never Get A Creature The Size Of Godzillagodzilla statue photographed from below with a cloudy sky and a high-rise building in the backgroundspace-iconmath

The Cube-Square Law: Why We'll Never Get A Creature The Size Of Godzilla

clock-icon1 hour ago video-icon

Multimedia

link to article

Are We Really More Microbe Than Human? Find Out More In Issue 44 Of CURIOUS – Out NowThe cover of IFLScience's CURIOUS magazine as shown on an iPad. The background is orange with a purple-colored silhouette of a person covered in microbes. The cover line in orange says “are we really more microbe than human?”

Are We Really More Microbe Than Human? Find Out More In Issue 44 Of CURIOUS – Out Now

link to article

AI Assassins, Inside A De-Extinction Lab, And Life On Mars?Episode 79 of IFLScience Break It Down

AI Assassins, Inside A De-Extinction Lab, And Life On Mars?

link to article

IFLScience We Have Questions: What Do Other Worlds Smell Like?A smartphone showing an episide of IFLScience's We Have Questions podcast about what other worlds in space smell like

IFLScience We Have Questions: What Do Other Worlds Smell Like?

Tag » What If The Moon Hit Earth