The Influence of the moon on physical, biological and human phenomena Is a subject that has always caused much controversy.
There are some popular beliefs that really have no medical or scientific basis. However, there are some facts that have been shown to be caused by the influence of the moon.
The Moon is the only satellite Earth has. It has a diameter of approximately 3,475 kilometers, this makes it bigger than Pluto.
It always looks the same face because it takes 27.3 days to turn on itself, the same time it takes to rotate around the Earth, is what is called synchronous rotation.
The latest research determined that it was formed after the collision of a planet the same size as the planet Mars, with Earth more than 4.5 billion years ago.
The remains of the Earth that were produced after the collision fused and gave rise years later to the formation of the Moon. It has a great effect on the planet and it is believed that without it life would not be possible on Earth.
What are the influences of the Moon?
1- Physical phenomena
Moon phases
They are caused by the Moon's movements around the Earth. The Moon has no light of its own, but its light comes from the reflected sunlight on its surface.
As you orbit the moon around the Earth, the sun illuminates the face that lies ahead. Seen from Earth, it is observed from the center of its orbit. These different perspectives cause different illuminated parts to be seen. What gives rise to the different phases of the moon:
- New Moon : It is almost aligned between the Earth and the Sun and the illuminated part is not seen. You can not see the moon.
- Crescent : The Moon together with the Earth and the Sun form a right angle and only one half of the moon is seen to grow.
- full moon : In this case it is the Earth that is between the Sun and the Moon, giving rise to seeing the whole face of the illuminated moon.
- Waning Crescent : As in the growing quarter, the Earth and the Sun form a right angle and you see the other half of the Moon, which is decreasing.
Attraction of the moon
The Moon exerts an attraction on the Earth causing the slowing in its rotation, this causes that it goes extending the day about 2.3 milliseconds by century.
The Energy Which takes off the Earth, is absorbed by the Moon, making each time its distance is greater with respect to the Earth, goes away about 3.8 centimeters per year.
Biological Phenomena
Plant growth
In the same way that its force of attraction affects the tides, also affects in the sap of the plants. It produces a cyclical movement in it, causing a stimulus in the roots that propitiates the growth.
Plants are sensitive to light reflecting the moon, so the closer they are to the full moon, the more their growth is activated.
He weather
The Moon is the one who helps to keep the Earth's axis in position. If it did not exist, the Earth would not have a fixed axis and could be the poles either facing the Sun or remain in the shade.
This fact would give rise to places very warm and others very cold, making in some points of the Earth the night and the day were eternal, what would make the life was practically impossible.
The Moon makes the planet Earth more habitable, getting it to keep the oscillation on its axis and causing it to have a stable climate.
The tides
It is an effect caused by the force of the attraction that the Moon exerts on the Earth. The Moon tries to attract the water that is closest to it, as the water is always in continuous movement, the Earth does not get hold of it.
Every day there are two high tides and two low tides, this is a periodic increase of large bodies of water. This phenomenon becomes visible on the coast, where you can see how the sea water retreats and returns.
The tides vary with the different phases of the moon, being the most intense when there is a new moon. This is because the gravity of the Moon and the sun pull in the same direction, adding their attraction.
The eclipses
The eclipses of the Sun are those in which you see a darkening of the sun, this is due to the projection of the shadow of the Moon that interposes between the Earth and the Sun. Its shadow is projected in an area of the Earth, It is in absolute darkness, because the moon covers the sun, it eclipses it.
Lunar eclipses are those in which you see a darkening of the Moon, because it is located in the shadow zone of the Earth. This makes it disappear from view.
Aurora borealis
It is believed that the full moon interferes in the aurora boreales causing a decrease of the same. This is mainly because the reflected light makes the sky not so dark and does not produce the necessary contrast, making auroras less visible.
3- Human phenomena
In fertility
The moon cycles last 28 days, exactly the same as the menstrual cycle in women. This fact has led to relate the moon to fertility.
The moon can affect fertility giving rise to ovulation at any time, regardless of biological ovulation. That is, in a same cycle a woman can ovulate twice, is what is known as double lunar ovulation.
In childbirth
It is believed that the moon has an effect on pregnant women, causing them to go forward on days when they are in their full moon phase.
However, this fact has been proven by numerous medical and scientific studies and has been shown to be incorrect.
In the quality of the dream
A recent research, which was published in March 2016, looked at 5,800 children and found that on full-moon nights, children slept an average of 5 minutes less.
This fact does not cause any health problem, but it is an interesting scientific fact. It seems that the brightness of the full moon could be one of the reasons.
In states of madness or suicide
After numerous studies and analyzes, no relationship has been found between the lunar cycle and human behavior that causes madness. What has been demonstrated is that it affects moods , Being these more intense during the full moon.
References
- Cooley, K. (2012). Moon Tides. Recovered on 06/05/05, from home.hiwaay.net.
- Enchanted Learning. (S.f.). The Moon. Retrieved on 06/05/05, from enchantedlearning.com.
- (05 of 08 of 2013). Current Biology. Retrieved 06 of 05 of 2017, from sciencedirect.com.
- (06 of 12 of 2013). The phases of the moon. Recovered 06 of 05 of 2017, of es.sideshare.net.
- Roy Britt, Robert; Live Science Staff. (11 of 11 of 2016). It's just a Phase: The Supermoon Will not Drive You Mad. Retrieved 06 of 05 of 2017, from livescience.com.
- Todd Carroll, R. (s.f.). Full moon and lunar effects. Recovered 06 of 05 of 2017, of skepdic.com.
- (04 of 04 of 2017). Lunar effect. Recovered on 06 of 05 of 2017, of en.wikipedia.org.