Space Trivia : The Earth causes the moon to shrink.

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The moon is shrinking, and the Earth is shaping it.


Gravitational forces exerted by the Earth on the moon are causing cracks to form on the satellite's surface as it cools and shrinks, shown in the animation above (© NASA/Arizona State University/Smithsonian Institution)

The lobate thrusts faults create step-like cliff formations on the surface of the moon, like the one shown above. They were initially thought to be due to the cooling of the interior causing the moon to shrink, cracking the brittle crust, but the new research has shown the Earth's gravity is also taking its toll