In honor of Moonfall, a new video explains what would happen if the Moon crashed into the Earth. This is roughly the premise of director Roland Emmerich's latest disaster movie, which debuted in theaters this past weekend on February 4. With an estimated production budget of $140 million, which is actually one of the most expensive independent films of all time, Moonfall grossed just $10 million in its opening weekend, rendering it one of the biggest box office bombs in recent memory.
Despite this disappointment, Moonfall does boast an intriguing premise, at least on the surface. After a mysterious force knocks the Moon off its orbit and sends it hurtling towards Earth, NASA executive Jo Fowler (Halle Berry) discovers the secret to saving humanity. With just a few weeks' time before impact, Fowler is able to convince one astronaut, Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson), and a conspiracy theorist, K.C. Houseman (Game of Thrones' John Bradley), to help her execute her plan. Moonfall also stars Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, Michael Peña, and Donald Sutherland.
Now, a new video from the YouTube channel Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell explores the real science behind Moonfall and answers the question on audiences' minds after seeing the disaster film: Could the Moon actually crash into Earth, and if so, what would happen? Though the Moon suddenly going off its orbit and plummeting towards Earth would break more laws of physics than anyone has time to explain, the video does explore what would happen, hypothetically, if the Moon started getting progressively closer and eventually crashed into Earth. Watch the video below:
Click here to watch the video.
In Moonfall, as the Moon falls closer and closer to Earth, the gravitational pull between the two bodies has cataclysmic effects on the planet, causing various disasters such as tsunamis and atmospheric dissipation. Though Emmerich employed a few scientific advisors, including geophysicist and disaster researcher Mika McKinnon, who helped keep the film grounded in plausible science, Moonfall is ultimately a science-fiction film. This gave Emmerich, as well as writers Harald Kloser and Spenser Cohen, plenty of artistic license when crafting the film. Thus, audiences should approach it with some suspension of disbelief.
Perhaps the biggest liberty Moonfall takes is that the moon is not a natural satellite, but an artificial megastructure created and inhabited by ancient aliens. Though the disaster flick plays fast and loose with its science, almost verging on pure fantasy, this shouldn't exactly come as a surprise to audiences, given Emmerich's penchant for fantastical disaster scenarios. Even though its premise may be entirely implausible, Moonfall can still offer some escapist enjoyment.
Source: Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell/YouTube