Without the moon, things would be very different on Earth. For one, the days would be much shorter. This is because the moon's gravity has been slowing down the Earth's rotation for eons. Billions of years ago, a day was only 10 hours long. Without the moon, it would likely still be that length. Shorter days would have meant more rapid heating and cooling of the ocean, causing more turbulent weather. Storms would have also been stronger due to a larger Coriolis effect increasing wind speeds worldwide.
Then there's the issue of tides. Weaker tides would have made it harder for amphibians to evolve on land. They need a stable balance of wet and dry conditions to survive, which our chaotic world may have been lacking. And without amphibians, plants and animals wouldn't have had a chance to evolve on land either. Indeed, without the moon, humans probably wouldn't have existed! Life may have been limited to the aquatic realm. If land animals and plants were to evolve, they would have had to be shorter and stockier to withstand the heavy winds.
If humans happened to exist, which I doubt, it would have affected our civilization in subtle ways. First, we wouldn't have a lunar based calendar. Instead it would have probably been based on a different celestial cycle. Seeing as the days were named after the planets, moon, and sun, we would only have a six day week instead of seven. Also, night on Earth would be darker. This might have aided in the development of astronomy because it would have made for better viewing. But the faster spin may have made it more difficult to detect and follow celestial objects, especially with extra turbulent weather increasing interference. Finally, without the moon, there wouldn't be any eclipses. Not that it makes a huge difference, unless you get a thrill from them like me!
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