Moon: General Facts The Moon is the Earth’s only satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the solar system. The Moon is the second densest satellite after Io, a Jovian moon. The Moon is the first celestial body on which us humans have set foot on and explored. The Moon has a mass of 1/81 of earths and about a quarter of Earth’s size. The Moon does not have its own light. The light you see during the night is the sunlight reflecting off of it.
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The Formation of the Moon Some scientists believe that the moon was formed by a piece of Earth in a collision with Mars made a piece of Earth fall away) hit a Mars size body called Theia, known for the mythical Greek Titan who was the mother of Selene, The goddess of the moon. The pieces spread out into the Earth’s orbit, forming a ring. A large clump of this ejected material sucked in the little pieces, forming Earth’s only satellite. Moon samples which indicate that the moon was once molten, the Moons relatively small iron core, lower density compared to earth, evidence of similar collisions in other star systems and giant collisions are consistent with the leading theories of the formation of the solar system.
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Most scientists agree with the idea that a collision with two bodies formed the Moon.
Composition
This is the Moon’s surface. Note the scars, craters, and other maria around.
The Moon has a similar structure like that of the Earth’s, having a crust, mantle and core. The elements that make up the Moon’s crust are oxygen (O), silicon (Si), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), and calcium (Ca). It is 48 km thick on the near side and 74 km on the far side. Because of the Moon’s history of meteorite bombardment, the crust is severely cracked. The cracks extend to a depth of 25 km; below that, the crust is completely solid. The Moon’s rocky mantle is rich in silicate minerals but poor in metals such as iron. The upper mantle is solid, rigid, and stable. Radioactive decay of minor components of the lunar rock means that the temperature increases with depth. The lower mantle lies about 1000 km below the crust, and here the rock gradually becomes partially molten. The average density of the Moon indicates that it might have a small iron core. The Apollo missions measured the velocities of shock waves traveling through the Moon, but the results proved inconclusive. Further seismic evidence is needed to confirm the existence of a metallic core.
Size, Distance and Other Things The size of the moon is about ¼ of Earth’s, with a diameter of 3,476 km. The volume of the moon is 2% of Earth’s and its mass is about 1% of Earth’s. Average distance from Earth is 384,400 km. Average distance from Sun is about 15,000,000 km. The perigee (closest measurement to Earth) is 363,300 km. The apogee (farthest measurement to Earth) is 405,500 km.
Phases
The Monthly Orbit The Moon’s orbit is elliptical. It has a perigee of 363,300 km and an apogee of 405,500 km. The Moon’s axis is 6.7 degrees from the vertical. The Moon spins on this axis once every 27.32 Earth days or approximately one month. It also takes 27.32 days to revolve around the Earth. That makes the Moon have a synchronous orbit, so we always see the same side.
We will forever be able to see the near side of the moon, with all the craters and maria (left). The far side was a mystery until we sent spacecraft. The absence of lunar activity is significant (right).
How the Moon Affects the Earth Tides are created because the Earth and the moon are attracted to each other, just like magnets are attracted to each other. The moon tries to pull at anything on the Earth to bring it closer. But, the Earth is able to hold onto everything except the water. Since the water is always moving, the Earth cannot hold onto it, and the moon is able to pull at it. Each day, there are two high tides and two low tides. The ocean is constantly moving from high tide to low tide, and then back to high tide. There is about 12 hours and 25 minutes between the two high tides. The moon does not completely revolve around the Earth. The Moon and the Earth revolve around a certain type of point called the barycenter. So it gives the Earth a wobbly orbit.
Missions to the Moon 1959 Luna 1 - Jan 2, 1959 - Flyby Pioneer 4 - Mar 3, 1959 - Flyby Luna 2 - Sep 12, 1959 - Impact Luna 3 - Oct 4, 1959 - Probe 1961 Ranger 1 - Aug 23, 1961 - Attempted Test Flight Ranger 2 - Nov 18, 1961 - Attempted Test Flight 1962 Ranger 3 - Jan 26, 1962 - Attempted Impact Ranger 4 - Apr 23, 1962 - Impact Ranger 5 - Oct 18, 1962 - Attempted Impact 1963 Luna 4 - Apr 2, 1963 - Flyby 1964 Ranger 6 - Jan 30, 1964 - Impact Ranger 7 - Jul 28, 1964 - Impact 1965 Ranger 8 - Feb 17, 1965 - Impact Ranger 9 - Mar 21, 1965 - Impact Luna 5 - May 9, 1965 - Impact Luna 6 - Jun 8, 1965 - Attempted Lander Zond 3 - Jul 18, 1965 - Flyby Luna 7 - Oct 4, 1965 - Impact Luna 8 - Dec 3, 1965 - Impact 1966 Luna 9 - Jan 31, 1966 - Lander Luna 10 - Mar 31, 1966 - Orbiter Surveyor 1 - May 30, 1966 - Lander Lunar Orbiter 1 - Aug 10, 1966 - Orbiter Luna 11 - Aug 24, 1966 - Orbiter Surveyor 2 - Sep 20, 1966 - Attempted Lander Luna 12 - Oct 22, 1966 - Orbiter Lunar Orbiter 2 - Nov 6, 1966 - Orbiter Luna 13 - Dec 21, 1966 - Lander 1967 Lunar Orbiter 3 - Feb 4, 1967 - Orbiter Surveyor 3 - Apr 17, 1967 - Lander Lunar Orbiter 4 - May 8, 1967 - Orbiter Surveyor 4 - Jul 14, 1967 - Attempted Lander Explorer 35 (IMP-E) - Jul 19, 1967 - Orbiter Lunar Orbiter 5 - Aug 1, 1967 - Orbiter Surveyor 5 - Sep 8, 1967 - Lander Surveyor 6 - Nov 7, 1967 - Lander
1968 Surveyor 7 - Jan 7, 1968 - Lander Luna 14 - Apr 7, 1968 - Orbiter Zond 5 - Sep 15, 1968 - Return Probe Zond 6 - Nov 10, 1968 - Return Probe Apollo 8 - Dec 21, 1968 - Crewed Orbiter 1969 Apollo 10 - May 18, 1969 - Orbiter Luna 15 - Jul 13, 1969 - Orbiter Apollo 11 - Jul 16, 1969 - Crewed Landing Zond 7 - Aug 7, 1969 - Return Probe Apollo 12 - Nov 14, 1969 - Crewed Landing 1970 Apollo 13 - Apr 11, 1970 - Crewed Landing (aborted) Luna 16 - Sep 12, 1970 - Sample Return Zond 8 - Oct 20, 1970 - Return Probe Luna 17 - Nov 10, 1970 - Rover 1971 Apollo 14 - Jan 31, 1971 - Crewed Landing Apollo 15 - Jul 26, 1971 - Crewed Landing Luna 18 - Sep 2, 1971 - Impact Luna 19 - Sep 28, 1971 - Orbiter 1972 Luna 20 - Feb 14, 1972 - Sample Return Apollo 16 - Apr 16, 1972 - Crewed Landing Apollo 17 - Dec 7, 1972 - Crewed Landing 1973 Luna 21 - Jan 8, 1973 - Rover Explorer 49 (RAE-B) - Jun 10, 1973 - Orbiter 1974 Luna 22 - Jun 2, 1974 - Orbiter Luna 23 - Oct 28, 1974 - Lander 1976 Luna 24 - Aug 14, 1976 - Sample Return 1990 Hiten - Jan 24, 1990 - Flyby and Orbiter 1994 Clementine - Jan 25, 1994 - Orbiter 1997 AsiaSat 3/HGS-1 - Dec 24, 1997 - Lunar Flyby 1998 Lunar Prospector - Jan 7, 1998 - Orbiter 2003 SMART 1 - Sep 27, 2003 - Lunar Orbiter 2007
Kaguya (SELENE) - Sep 14, 2007 - Lunar Orbiter Chang'e 1 - Oct 24, 2007 - Lunar Orbiter 2008 Chandrayaan-1 - Oct 22, 2008 - Lunar Orbiter 2009 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter - June 17, 2009 - Lunar Orbiter LCROSS - June 17, 2009 - Lunar Orbiter and Impactor 2010 Chang'e 2 - Oct 1, 2010 - Lunar Orbiter 2011 Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) - Sep 10, 2011 - Lunar Orbiter 2013 Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) - Mar, 2013 - Lunar Orbiter