THE MOON Notes

THE MOON
INTRODUCTION TO THE MOON

The moon has always captured human imagination, and landing on its surface is a
testament to mankind’s relentless pursuit of exploration. The Moon is Earth's sole natural
satellite and nearest large celestial body. It is a spherical rocky body, probably with a small
metallic core, revolving around Earth in a slightly eccentric orbit at a mean distance of about
384,000 km (238,600 miles).
The first human beings who stepped on the moon were Neil Armstrong and Edwin
"Buzz" Aldrin. They were one of the first 12 human beings to walk on the Moon. Four of
America's moonwalkers are still alive: Aldrin (Apollo 11), David Scott (Apollo 15), Charles
Duke (Apollo 16), and Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17).
Studying the Moon doesn’t only help us understand our celestial neighbors but also aids
us in comprehending processes that the young Earth may have gone through in the early Solar
System. We could only study the moon with telescopes and, beginning in the 1940s, radar until
the invention of spaceflight.
COMPOSITON OF THE MOON

The brightest and largest object in our night sky, the Moon makes Earth a more livable
planet by moderating our home planet's wobble on its axis, leading to a relatively stable climate.
It also causes tides, creating a rhythm that has guided humans for thousands of years. The moon
is Earth's most constant companion and the easiest celestial object to find in the night sky.
The moon, with a diameter of about 2,159 miles (3,475 kilometers), is bigger than Pluto.
(And there are four other moons in our solar system even bigger than ours.)
The moon is a bit more than one-fourth (27%) the size of the Earth, a much larger ratio
(1:4) than any other moons to their planets. This means that the moon has a great effect on our
planet and may even be a major factor in making life on Earth possible. But how far is the moon
from Earth?
On average, the moon is approximately 238,855 miles (384,400 km) away from Earth,
equivalent to about 30 Earth diameters. And how big is the moon compared to Earth? In terms of
diameter, the moon is approximately one-fourth the size of Earth. When it comes to surface area,
the moon covers about 1/16th of Earth's total surface area. In regards to mass, the moon has
roughly 1.2% of Earth's mass.
The moon gets its light from the sun. In the same way that the sun illuminates Earth, the
moon reflects the sun's light, making it appear bright in our sky.
One of the main roles of the Moon in history, is the moon's only night time source of light
for people. It was used to help travellers navigate and allowed people to work. Since the
invention of candles, gas lamps and more recently electric lighting, the importance of moonlight
for humanity has been diminished.
MOON THEORY: THE GIANT IMPACT THEORY

In 1974, Hartmann and Davis proposed what became known as the Giant Impact Theory.
They theorized that the moon formed when a Mars-sized planet dubbed Theia – the moon's Titan
mother in Greek mythology – struck Gaia, the early Earth, more than 4.5 billion years ago.
Evidence:
Such an impact between Earth and a Mars-sized object likely formed the Moon. The
giant-impact hypothesis is currently the favored scientific hypothesis for the formation of the
Moon. Supporting evidence includes: Earth's spin and the Moon's orbit have similar orientations.
FACTS
 FIRST-MANNED MISSION
Apollo 11, U.S. spaceflight during which commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot
Edwin (“Buzz”) Aldrin, Jr., on July 20, 1969, became the first people to land on the Moon
and walk the lunar surface.
 NAME ORIGIN
The name Luna means "moon" in Latin and in several languages with Latin roots, including
Spanish and Italian. In ancient Roman mythology, Luna was the moon goddess.
 LANDFORMS
If you look at the moon through a telescope, you can see three types of landforms—craters,
highlands, and dark, flat areas.
 CRATERS
The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International
Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated.
Why does the Moon have craters? These craters formed when rocks or comets from space
smashed into the surface of the Moon. The impact was so powerful that it pulverized the
ground – creating what we call regolith – and sprayed it out to form those ejecta rays.
 HIGHLANDS
Elevated areas on the moon's surface.
— The lunar highlands are the lighter areas on the moon visible to the naked eye.
— Riddled with craters.
The dark areas are known as “mare” (or maria) which is the Latin word for “seas”. They're called
maria because early scientists believed they could see oceans on the moon. Maria is the dark-
colored areas of the moon caused by the spread of lava during an earlier volcanic period of lunar
evolution. maria is the solidified lava.
 CHANG’E, THE MOON GODDESS
Around the world, people have found ways to make the Moon their own. The Chinese tell the
tale of Chang’e, a Moon goddess. The Ancient Egyptians had the Moon god Khonsu, protector of
night-time travelers. The Ancient Greeks had the Moon goddess Selene, who was said to drive a
Moon chariot across the dark sky. Not only have our stories helped us make sense of the Moon,
but the Moon has informed our understanding of Earth.
 LUNAR PHASES
These eight phases are, in order, new Moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full
Moon, waning gibbous, third quarter and waning crescent. The cycle repeats once a month
(every 29.5 days).
 DRIFTING AWAY
NASA scientists have revealed that the Moon is slowly drifting away from the Earth at the rate
of 3.8 cm per year. The phenomenon didn't used to occur earlier and is possibly the result of
Milankovitch cycles. According to NASA space scientists, moon is slowly drifting away from
the Earth.
 5TH LARGEST MOON
The fifth-largest moon in the solar system is Earth's moon. The moon is around one-quarter of
the size of Earth with a diameter of 3,475 kilometers, or 2,160 miles. It has a solid iron core and
a rocky, crater-ridden surface made up mainly of magnesium, oxygen and aluminum.

THE MOON Notes

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THE MOON Notes

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THE MOON

INTRODUCTION TO THE MOON

COMPOSITON OF THE MOON

MOON THEORY: THE GIANT IMPACT THEORY

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