How did the Moon change Earth?

Why does an object 384,400 kilometers away raise tides, slow Earth's rotation, and move a little farther away every year?

Read Earth and Moon as one evolving system: a leading impact origin, two-way tidal deformation, angular-momentum exchange, and a laser measurement still tracking the change.

Artistic scientific reconstruction of Earth and the Moon connected by a subtle orbital arc and exaggerated tidal deformation cues. — Artistic scientific reconstruction: distances, body sizes, orbital arc, and tidal deformation are exaggerated for visibility. The image introduces a coupled system rather than reproducing a physical simulation.

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