The Moon is slowly leaving Earth's orbit and is fated to zoom off into space, astronomer warns

Humanity could one day be forced to say goodbye to the Moon, assuming we haven't destroyed each other first or been wiped out by some cosmic calamity.

A leading astronomer has told The Mirror that our lunar neighbour is slowly edging its way out of the planet's gravitational pull.

This means that one day it will finally wrench itself free and zoom out into the solar system, where it may collide with another planet, get eaten up by the sun or simply head out on a long, lonely journey into deep space.

Matt Siegler, a celebrated planetary scientist, published research in Nature today which revealed the Moon shifted its axis some three billion years ago, meaning its north and south poles moved more than 125 miles.

"We tend to think that objects in the sky have always been the way we view them, but in this case the face that is so familiar to us - the Man on the Moon - changed," Siegler said.

We asked if this meant Earth's satellite would one day smash into the planet, causing death and destruction for the entire human species.

"No, we're safe," he reassured The Mirror.

"The Moon is migrating away from the earth at a rate of about 3cm per year.

"Eventually the Moon could get far enough away to escape the earth's gravity."

This process is happening at a rate of about 3cm a year, he said, so humanity should be able to enjoy the moon for at least a few more billion years - if we survive that long.

The Sun is widely expected to grow to a massive size and swallow up our planet within a similar timeframe.