The Moon Is Shrinking:NASA Says

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"We know it's shrinking by looking at these landforms called lobate scarps that kind of look like stairsteps in the landscape," Watters told AOL News. "They're caused by thrust faults, which are generated when the lunar crust material is pushed together and pushed up, forming a cliff or scarp."

"These faults could be so young that they may be indicating very, very recent tectonic and, therefore, geologic activity on the moon. One of the general conceptions out there is that the moon is this geologically dead body, and that's really not the case," he said.

"Overall, it's only about 100 meters in the past billion years, so it's not a whole lot of contraction -- it's not something you're ever going to notice from Earth," Watters said. "But because the scarps are widespread, they definitely indicate the moon's crust has been shrinking.

"The mass of the moon hasn't changed; the overall size of the moon has changed slightly and become slightly smaller. Therefore, the tidal effects on Earth are exactly the same."