Introduction
The moon is Earth's nearest neighbour in space. Itorbits our planet at a distance of 384,400km and always keep the same side pointing towards us. It may seen a long way away, but the moon is close enough to have a tremendous effect on conditions of Earth. It is the pull of the moon's gravity that causes tides in the seas.
The moon's surface
The moon has no light of its own, but like Earth is lit by light from the Sun. Even with the naked eye, some features of the moon's surface can be seen. In fact, it is a dry, barren landscape, pitted with craters caused by the bombartments of meteorites over 3 billion years ago. The moon has no rain, wind or earthquakes to wear away or break down the craters, so they have remained the same for millions of years.
(click here to get the image)
Lunar influences
The moon is a mystery because we do not know exactly where it came from. Before scientists began examining lunar rocks, they had several theories about how the Earth acquired its satellite. Some believed that when the Earth was young, it was spinning at such a high speed that it lost some of its molten form. This globule of lava solidified and became the moon. The most popular theory today is that when Earth was young, it was hit by a Mars-sized object. This immense collision sent a large amount of material into space. The material joined to form the moon.
Lunar cycles
Each month it seems as though the moon changes shape. Of course, that's not really the case. Only the part of the Moon that is both turned towards the Earth and lit by the sun is visible from Earth. The moon orbits Earth once every 27.3 days, a lunar month. As the Moon also takes exactly the same amount of time to turn on its axis, the same side of the moon is always turned towards the Earth. The amount of the moon that can be seen changes as the Moon's position changes. Our word "month" comes from the "moon", although our calender months are not linked to the phases of the Moon.
Some important facts
1) Craters on the near side of the Moon have been named after famous people, such as astronomers.
2) Although space explorations gave us information for the first time about the side of the moon that is always turned away from Earth (the "dark side"), there are still areas of the moon that have not been mapped, particularly around the south pole.
3) Some craters are called "ray craters". They are formed when meteorites struck the Moon about 800 million years ago, hurling bright rocks into a pattern of "rays" around the point of impact.
4) The darker areas of the moon have been called seas, or maria, but they are as dry as the rest of the moon. They were formed billions of years ago when molten rock seeped out into craters on the surface.
5) Mountain ranges, thousands of metres high, form the walls of huge craters on the Moon's surface.
Facts and Figures
Diameter : 3,476km
Age : 4.6 billion years
Distance from Earth : 384,400km
Surface temperature : from -155oC to 105oC(-247oF to 221oF)
Time taken to orbit the Earth : 27.3 days
Mass : 0.012 x Earth
Time taken to turn on its axis : 27.3 days
The moon is Earth's nearest neighbour in space. Itorbits our planet at a distance of 384,400km and always keep the same side pointing towards us. It may seen a long way away, but the moon is close enough to have a tremendous effect on conditions of Earth. It is the pull of the moon's gravity that causes tides in the seas.
The moon's surface
The moon has no light of its own, but like Earth is lit by light from the Sun. Even with the naked eye, some features of the moon's surface can be seen. In fact, it is a dry, barren landscape, pitted with craters caused by the bombartments of meteorites over 3 billion years ago. The moon has no rain, wind or earthquakes to wear away or break down the craters, so they have remained the same for millions of years.
Lunar influences
The moon is a mystery because we do not know exactly where it came from. Before scientists began examining lunar rocks, they had several theories about how the Earth acquired its satellite. Some believed that when the Earth was young, it was spinning at such a high speed that it lost some of its molten form. This globule of lava solidified and became the moon. The most popular theory today is that when Earth was young, it was hit by a Mars-sized object. This immense collision sent a large amount of material into space. The material joined to form the moon.
Lunar cycles
Each month it seems as though the moon changes shape. Of course, that's not really the case. Only the part of the Moon that is both turned towards the Earth and lit by the sun is visible from Earth. The moon orbits Earth once every 27.3 days, a lunar month. As the Moon also takes exactly the same amount of time to turn on its axis, the same side of the moon is always turned towards the Earth. The amount of the moon that can be seen changes as the Moon's position changes. Our word "month" comes from the "moon", although our calender months are not linked to the phases of the Moon.
Some important facts
1) Craters on the near side of the Moon have been named after famous people, such as astronomers.
2) Although space explorations gave us information for the first time about the side of the moon that is always turned away from Earth (the "dark side"), there are still areas of the moon that have not been mapped, particularly around the south pole.
3) Some craters are called "ray craters". They are formed when meteorites struck the Moon about 800 million years ago, hurling bright rocks into a pattern of "rays" around the point of impact.
4) The darker areas of the moon have been called seas, or maria, but they are as dry as the rest of the moon. They were formed billions of years ago when molten rock seeped out into craters on the surface.
5) Mountain ranges, thousands of metres high, form the walls of huge craters on the Moon's surface.
Facts and Figures
Diameter : 3,476km
Age : 4.6 billion years
Distance from Earth : 384,400km
Surface temperature : from -155oC to 105oC(-247oF to 221oF)
Time taken to orbit the Earth : 27.3 days
Mass : 0.012 x Earth
Time taken to turn on its axis : 27.3 days
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