What would happen if the moon lost mass?

Question

Say we mine the Moon, and it gradually loses 50% of its mass over a year. What would happen to

A) The Moon

B) The Earth

C) The other planets (if affected)

Would the moon crash into the earth, or would it go away from the earth?

Answer 1

No more big tides, surfing, etc. Tides wouldn't disappear entirely, since the sun would continue to tug on the oceans, causing high tides of diminished amplitude at noon and midnight. Much darker at night.

Loss of the meteorite shield and resultant flaming death. Some say that if not for the moon, all those meteorites that made huge craters (150 miles and more in diameter) on the lunar surface would have flattened Nebraska instead.

lol This is what I think anyways...

Answer 2

lol i would hardly call losing 50% over a year gradual but,

the moon would go further away from the earth * IF it keeps it's same velocity etc....

if it just loses mass some how it will move closer due to the gravitational formula   -- inverse square law      (m1xm2)/r^2

relativly it's like the earth getting bigger, it will pull it in

the earth would have smaller tidal effects

other planets probably wouldn't be affected too much