Our moon is on the move.
月球正在移动
Each year it drifts an estimated 1.5 inches further away from Earth.
月球每年飘离地球约 1.5 英吋
And in the process, Earth's rotation is actually slowing down.
过程中，地球的自转正慢下来
What if one night the moon simply disappeared?
如果有一晚月亮整个消失了呢？
Would we miss it?
我们会想念月亮吗？
A full moon is on average 14,000 times brighter than the next brightest night sky object, Venus.
满月平均比夜空中第二亮的物体，也就是金星，还要亮一万四千倍
Without it, every night would be as dark as a new moon and stargazing would be spectacular.
少了月亮，每晚会像新月时那么暗，观星肯定很壮观
But by the next morning, you'd begin to realize just how important the moon is for life on Earth.
但到了隔天，你会开始发现月亮对地球上的生命有多重要
To start, between the sun, Earth's rotation, and the moon, the moon has the largest influence on Earth's tides.
在太阳、地球自转以及月球之中，月球对地球潮汐有最大的影响力
Without it, high and low tides would shrink by an estimated 75%.
少了它，高潮和低潮会缩减约百分之七十五
This would jeopardize the lives of many types of crabs, muscles, and sea snails that live in tidal zones and disrupt the diets of larger animals who rely on them for food, threatening entire coastal ecosystems in the process.
这会危及居住于潮间带的各种螃蟹、贻贝，和海螺
And disrupt the diets of larger animals who rely on them for food, threatening entire coastal ecosystems in the process.
并破坏依赖这些生物为食的大型动物进食，进而对整个沿海生态系统构成威胁
Within a few decades, we would start to see mass population declines in the sea and on land.
几十年内，海洋和陆地会有大型生物数量衰退
One of the largest spawning events in the world occurs in the Great Barrier Reef.
其中一个世界上最大的产卵活动发生于大堡礁
Each November in the days following the light of a full moon, coral colonies across the Reef, spanning an area larger than the state of New Mexico, release millions of egg and sperm sacks within nearly minutes of one another.
每年 11 月，满月过后的几天横跨面积超过新墨西哥州的大堡礁珊瑚礁群在几分钟内释放百万个卵子与精子囊。
Scientists are certain that the full moon plays a role in the timing, but exactly how remains a mystery.
科学家确定满月在时间上扮演重要角色，至于为什么则仍是谜团
On land, animals like these red crabs also use lunar cues to reproduce.
在陆地上，这些红蟹，也因循月亮周期进行繁殖
After living most of their lives on the mountains, millions of adult crabs migrate down to shore and then only during the last quarter of the moon, females release their eggs into the sea.
在山里生活大半辈子后，百万只成年螃蟹下移到海岸边只有在下弦月期间，雌蟹才会排卵至海中。
Now, the moon may not hold as much sway over human reproduction, but without it, something we care equally about would change, the weather.
月亮可能对人类繁衍并没有那么大的影响但少了它，我们同样在乎的气候也会改变。
Tides and tidal currents help mix cold, Arctic waters with warmer waters in the tropics.
潮汐和洋流有助于混和寒冷的北极水域与热带较温暖的水域
This balances temperatures and stabilizes the climate worldwide.
这帮助平衡全球温度与稳定气候
Without the moon, weather forecasts would be practically impossible.
少了月亮，几乎不可能进行天气预报
The average difference between the hottest and coldest places on Earth could grow to life-threatening extremes, but none of this compares to the biggest change that we would have coming over the next millennium.
地球最高温与最低温地区的平均温差，可能会增长成威胁生命的极端数字但这些都不能和下一个千禧年我们将迎来的最大挑战相比。
Right now, Earth tilts on an axis at 23.5 degrees, mostly due to moon's gravity.
因为月球的引力，地球由轴心倾斜 23.5 度
If the moon disappeared, Earth's axis would wobble between anywhere from 10 to 45 degrees.
若月球消失，地球轴心可能在 10 度到 45 度之间晃动
Some experts estimate that Jupiter could help keep Earth's tilt from reeling completely out of control, but even just an extra 10-degree tilt could wreak havoc on the climate and seasons.
有些专家估计木星的引力可避免地球的倾斜失控但倾斜仅多 10 度就能造成对气候和季节造成重大灾害。
In the past, Earth's tilt has changed by about one to two degrees, which scientists think could have caused Ice Ages in the past.
过去，地球的倾斜曾改变 1 至 2 度，而科学家认为这造成了冰河时期
It's hard to know what a 10 degree or 45 degree tilt would do, but probably nothing good for most life on Earth.
很难想像如果地球倾斜 10 或 45 度会有什么结果，但对大部分地球生物来说，绝不会是什么好事
The moon isn't just imperative for life on Earth today, experts believe that it might have also played a key role in the formation of life more than 3.5 billion years ago.
月亮不只对现今地球生命极度重要专家相信月球在 35 亿年前地球生物形成时，也扮演重要角色。
Turns out, the moon isn't just a beacon of light in the night sky.
结论是，月亮不只是夜空中的一座灯塔
Its existence is crucial to the delicate balancing act that makes life here possible.
它的存在对于构成地球生命可能性的微妙平衡具有重要意义
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