About Moon’s Diameter | Moon’s Surface Distance from Earth and Moon’s Rotation facts | Moon’s Structure.
Moon’s Facts and Structure
It takes 27.3 days for the Moon to travel all the way around the Earth and complete its orbit. It is the fifth about the other in the Solar System Learn more about the other moons in the Solar system.
Moon’s Distance from Earth
The average distance from the Moon to the Earth is 384403 kilometers (238857 miles). The moon rotates on its axis in around the same length of time it takes to orbit the earth. This means that from Earth we only ever see around 60% of its surface (50% at any one time).
First time on Moon’s
The side that we can see from Earth is called the near side while the other side is called the far side. The USA’s NASA Apollo 11 mission in 1969 was the first manned Moon landing.
The first person to set foot on the Moon’s was Neil Armstrong. The far side of the Moon looks quite different due to its lack of Maris (ancient pools of solidified lava).
The surface of the Moon features a huge number of impact craters from comets and asteroids that have collided with the surface over time. Because the Moon lacks an atmosphere or weather these craters remain well preserved.
Moon’s Atmosphere
Although research is continuing most scientists agree that the Moon features small amounts of water. The earth’s tides are largely caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon.
The phases of the Moon are New Moon, Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, Crescent, New Moon. A Lunar eclipse occurs when the earth is between the Sun and the Moon.
The Moon’s is a Dusty ball of rock, measuring 3,476km in diameter that’s roughly a quarter of the size of Earth. Its surface is home to mountains, huge craters and flat planes called ‘seas’ made of hardened lave.
Moon’s Rotation
The Moon’s is Earth’s only natural satellite a celestial body that orbits a planet. Its orbit around our planet is shaped like a slightly squashed circle known as an ellipse.
Although the Moon shines bright in the night sky, it doesn’t produce its own light. We see the Moon because it reflects light from the Sun.
Ever noticed how the Moon appears to change shape each night? That’s because as the Moon orbits the earth, the sun lights up different parts of its surface so it’s just our vies of the Moon that’s changing, not the Moon itself. Find out more in our fascinating phases of the Moon feature.
As the moon travels, it rotates on its own axis, just like our planet. It takes roughly the same amount of time for the Moon to make a full rotation as it does for it to complete its orbit. This means we only ever see around 60% of the Moon’s surface from Earth. The part that faces Earth is Known as the ‘near side’ and the other, the ‘far side’.
Temperature on the Moon
The temperature on the Moon varies from super-hot to super cold. When the sun hits its Surface, temperature can reach a scorching 127 C. But when the Sun ‘goes down’, temperatures can plummet to around-153 C.
Like earth, the Moon has gravity (the force that pulls things towards the ground). But the Moon’s gravity is weaker, only one sixth of the earth’s gravity, in fact. That means you’d weigh much less if you were to stand on the Moon.
Most of the people think that the Moon is round in shape, but it’s not. The Moon is shaped like an egg.
Moon’s Structure
According to scientists, the Moon was formed as a result of a giant impact or giant whack of Earth with mars sized planet. Which result in the Moon. The Moon’s size varies depends upon its position, whether it is at perigee or apogee. Generally, the Moon is 14% bigger in its size, when it is at its perigee.
The Moon can influence earth by gravity. When the Moon is at its perigee, the weather and tides tend to be unstable and create larger tides due to gravitational pull and when the Moon is at its apogee, the weather and tides tend to be more predictable.
The Moon’s core is light, its core is 2-4% of its mass, whereas Earth’s core is about 30% of its mass. Scientists believe that Moon’s quakes originate below the Moon’s surface due to the Earth’s gravitational pull.
Do you know that Earth’s rotation has slowed down due to the Moon’s gravity, long ago-days were much shorter, and rotation was faster.
850 pounds (385 kg) 0f the moons were taken by six Apollo crews that came back to Earth.
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