What If Each Planet Replaced The Moon
#1 Mercury
Mercury is quite similar to the moon. Its surface is littered with craters left by space rocks. But it’s larger than the moon, so it would have a greater influence on the planet. Nights would be brighter. High tides would be higher and low tides lower. The Lunar Cycle, or rather the Mercury Cycle, would become 14 hours shorter. But other than that, this replacement wouldn’t have any drastic consequences. I still prefer the moon, though.
#2 Venus
Venus is often called Earth’s sister planet because its mass is almost the same as Earth. So, you can imagine how large it would look. This new moon would reflect much more sunlight than the usual moon, so nights would be as bright as twilight. After some time, Venus and Earth would start orbiting around their common centre of mass, which would be quite eccentric. If Venus moved at the same speed as the usual moon did, the two planets would collide.
#3 Mars
If Mars became our moon, It would be quite noticeable. The planet’s disc would look very reddish and it would be twice the moon’s size. Even if you didn’t see the red planet, you’d feel something unusual. Mars has an enormous force. It would upset the delicate balance of our planet. Tsunamis would crash to the shore instead of waves. Nights would be brighter. Terrestrial landscapes would have an eerie red tint. With time, Mars and Earth would begin to orbit around their common centre.
#4 Jupiter
If Jupiter replaced the moon, Earth would immediately become a moon, orbiting around the gas giant. The only positive moment of this transformation would be an amazing view of Jupiter. Earthquakes would shake the planet. Volcanoes would go off every second. Earth’s mantle and crust would be pulled toward Jupiter. This would split Earth apart. The planet would be stretched and compressed with such force that its surface would bulge back and forth. Earth’s speed is too slow to stay in Jupiter’s orbit. The planet would soon crash into Jupiter and sink right through the surface. Well, that sounds unpleasant, so let’s not do it.
#5 Saturn
If Saturn were to replace the moon, it’d be a sight to behold. The large planet would cover up to 18 degrees of the sky, and its rings would stretch even further. Saturn is much powerful than our planet, so Earth would start to orbit the gas giant. Earth would be too slow to keep up the orbit and would crash into Saturn. But before burning up in the larger planet’s atmosphere, we’d have to pass through its rings. These rings contain pieces of asteroids and comets. Our planet would have to avoid Saturn’s moons too. All 53 of them. Earth would be cut up badly when it reaches Saturn’s atmosphere. If the collision didn’t happen, Saturn’s pull would lead to tectonic plate shifts all over the planet. The shifts would tear the planet apart until there’s nothing left. Not good either.
#6 Uranus or Neptune
If either of these planets replaced Earth, the consequences would be the same. So, let’s just pick one randomly. Let’s say, Neptune. If Neptune replaced the moon, it would appear in the day as well as at night. It would seem to be 15 times larger than the sun. If everything else remained the same, a solar eclipse would seem to last forever. Once the sun vanishes behind Neptune, we would be in the dark for an hour and a half. Neptune would make Earth orbit around itself (oh, not again!) and there’s a great risk of the two planets colliding. But, what if some miracle happened and we didn’t start to orbit Neptune. Even then, it would be a good amount of trouble. Tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions would happen every second. Neptune’s gravity would heat Earth up. All this would happen with Uranus, too.
