What If The Moon Were 10x Brighter?

The large ball of fire thousands of miles away from us is the brightest and the biggest object in our solar system. If Jupiter was the size of a basketball, then the earth would look like a tiny little grape, but the sun makes even Jupiter look like a joke. That big burning ball in the sky is made up of Hydrogen and Helium and is 864 thousand miles in diameter making it more than 100 times wider than our little blue planet. It’s 10000 °F  just on the surface and 27 million degrees at the core. The moon on the other hand is a little easier to grasp at around 2160 miles in diameter which is only less than a third of the earth. It might seem pretty big floating in the sky but that’s because it’s the closest object to us. But what if the tables or in this case celestial bodies have turned and the moon suddenly became brighter than the sun? Let’s explore several scenarios.

Scenario 1: If the moon becomes brighter than the sun the nights will be brighter than days it means your sleep cycle will be disputed. All nocturnal animals will be utterly confused. When is it time to go out and eat now in the extreme north and south poles the nights and days are for months on and do so? People living in the area already have an idea of what it’s like to sleep at 11 pm with the sun shining brightly above them. For the rest of us it won’t be easy.

         Let’s say you’re out camping and prepare an awesome meal and gear up for the dark nights as you trick into the forest. You find a spot that has an awesome view of the lake and the clear sky above.

         It’s 7 pm and you start a fire for some s’mores and get the telescope ready. The only problem is that when the sun begins to set the moon lights up the sky even brighter. It’s surprisingly not as hot as you’d imagine since it's not direct sunlight but regardless it’s still pretty hot.

Scenario 2: Temperature will surely rise either way. Snow will melt away faster. The snow on the mountains will be the first to melt followed by the polar caps with so much heat. The sea level will rise and take small remote islands scattered across the ocean. Underwater coastal towns will go down and everyone will live closer inward. This will likely cause a chain reaction in the world economy.

         There will be no more winters which means no more winter activities like skiing, snowboarding or snow fights. Animals and plants all around the world would be affected. The world will turn into a large desert. The water will get scarce over the years but people will find a way to preserve it.

Scenario 3: The moon’s atmosphere is so thin that it can’t contain anything in it just like over deserts on earth. There are no clouds to bring some rain which is why it’s always hot or cold. The biggest desert in the world is the whole continent of Antarctica which is a cold barren desert contrary to what people think of the Sahara desert. So, If you still want to land on the moon, you better think twice now. People who are working at the international space station will have to find a new office. The moon will be too bright to bear considering how close they are. If the moon is just brighter than the sun without the heat part then the space station will only require adjustments to keep the light out. The reason why we see the moon in various shapes? It's because of its position in relation to the sun, the moon doesn’t rotate unlike earth. It’s kind of glued to us and is always showing the same side depending on the moon’s position during the month. We’ll have a super bright night during the full moon and relatively shiny nights during the rest of the month.

        Scenario 4: If we’re talking about the moon getting brighter, we can also assume it would get closer to earth than it is now. The brightness won’t be the problem here as gravity will cause major changes on earth, but everyday 24/7 there will be high tides. It will be so extreme that there will be constant floods in every coastal town. All islands will be submerged which will increase the population of inland cities. Marine life will be having the time of its life when water overtakes the land. Boats will have to be re-engineered for new conditions as well as submarines. Air travel will be the priority but large cruise ships will look futuristic and have an extra build to sustain the harsh waves. Night time will be pretty bright on regular days; it will raise the global temperature which will melt down the snow causing the sea level to increase even more. Comets and other celestial objects will be drawn to a closer gravitational pull. So, we will always have to look up whenever we go outside. But no worries the moon is still up there as it has been for a very long time. The earth and the moon’s relationship is complicated; luckily we only have one natural satellite; other planets in our solar system have multiple moons revolving around them. Some are so huge that they’re the size of earth. Imagine several of those affecting our home but that’s a topic for a completely different story.