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/total eclipses on the Moon Partial/total eclipses on the Moon Partial/total Solar eclipses on the Moon are caused when the Earth passes in front of the Sun, blocking a part its light in one part and the whole light in the other. Viewers on Earth will see a partial 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. The next partial-total solar eclipse on the Moon will be partial-total on August 7, 2017 with the southern portion of the Southern Hemisphere seeing totality. Seen