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
Sun and Moon (Middle-earth) light of the Sun before it was tainted by Melkor when he ravished Arien. The name of Narsil, the sword of King Elendil (later reforged for Aragorn as Andúril), contains the elements "nar" and "thil," "fire" and "white light" respectively in Quenya, referring to the Sun and Moon. The Man in the Moon is even described in those writings, as being an old Elf who secretly hid on the island of the Moon, and built a minaret there. This is alluded to further in Tolkien's "Roverandom", in which the Man in the Moon also lives in a minaret. Combined with