Future of Earth Sun. The drag from the solar atmosphere may cause the orbit of the Moon to decay. Once the orbit of the Moon closes to a distance of , it will cross the Earth's Roche limit. This means that tidal interaction with the Earth would break apart the Moon, turning it into a ring system. Most of the orbiting ring will then begin to decay, and the debris will impact the Earth. Hence, even if the Earth is not swallowed up by the Sun, the planet may be left moonless. The ablation and vaporization caused by its fall on a decaying
Partial eclipses on the Moon Partial eclipses on the Moon Partial solar eclipses on the Moon are caused when the Earth passes nearly in front of the Sun, blocking a part of its light. Viewers on Earth will see a penumbral lunar eclipse. During its eclipses, the Earth will be in new phase, completely dark, except for moonshine and sunlight refracted through the earth's atmosphere, visible as a ring of light. Unlike the Earth's which shows slightly darker shadows at 50% obscuration and mostly dark at over 75% obscuration, the Moon's penumbral shadow on the surface shows light yellow at the start and the end