Perhaps every person at least once in his life looked at the moon. And even schoolchildren know some facts about it. We have collected for our readers not so well-known, but no less interesting facts about the satellite of our planet.
1. The moon appeared as a result of a collision
The moon appeared as a result of a collision. Scientists believe that the Moon was formed from the debris of the Earth and a space object the size of Mars after their collision.
2.206 thousand 264 Moon
In order for it to be as light as day at night, it would take about three hundred thousand moons, and 206 thousand 264 moons would have to be in the full moon phase.
Promotional video:
3. People always see the same side of the moon
People always see the same side of the moon. The gravitational field of the Earth slows down the rotation of the Moon around its axis. Therefore, the rotation of the moon around its axis occurs in the same time as its rotation around the earth.
4. The far side of the moon
The far side of the moon is more mountainous than that seen from Earth. This is due to the gravity of the Earth, which has led to the fact that on the side facing our planet, a thinner crust.
5. Moon tree seeds
More than 400 trees growing on Earth were brought from the moon. The seeds of these trees were taken by the Apollo 14 crew in 1971, orbited the Moon, and returned to Earth.
6. Asteroid Cruithney
The Earth may have other natural satellites. The asteroid Cruithney moves in orbital resonance with the Earth and orbits the planet in 770 years.
7. Craters on the lunar surface
Craters on the lunar surface were left by meteorites 4.1 - 3.8 billion years ago. They are still visible only because, in geological terms, the Moon is not as active as the Earth.
8. There is water on the moon
There is water on the moon. There is no atmosphere on Earth's satellite, but there is frozen water in shaded craters and below the soil surface.
9. The moon is not a perfect ball
The moon is not really a perfect ball. It is rather egg-shaped due to the influence of the Earth's gravity. In addition, its center of mass is not in the center of the cosmic body, but about two kilometers away from the center.
10. Name crater …
The craters of the Moon were first named after famous scientists, artists and researchers, and later by the names of American and Russian cosmonauts.
11. Moonquakes
There is an earth on the satellite of the Earth … moonquakes. They are caused by the gravitational influence of the Earth. Their epicenter is a few kilometers below the surface of the moon.
12. Exosphere
The moon has an atmosphere called the exosphere. It is composed of helium, neon, and argon.
13. Dancing Dust
There is dancing dust on the moon. It hovers above the surface of the moon (more intense at sunrise or sunset). Dust particles rise upward due to electromagnetic forces.
14. Earth's satellite is more like a planet
Earth's satellite is more like a planet. The Earth and the Moon are a double planet system, similar to the Pluto + Charon system.
15. The moon causes the ebb and flow of the earth
The moon causes the ebb and flow of the earth. The gravitational influence of the moon affects the oceans of our planet. The highest tides occur when the moon is full or new.
16. The moon is moving away from the Earth
The moon is increasingly moving away from the Earth. Initially, the Earth's satellite was 22,000 kilometers from its surface, and now it is almost 400,000 kilometers.
17. There are large daily temperature fluctuations on the moon
There are very large temperature fluctuations on the moon. In the area of the lunar equator, the temperature ranges from minus 173 at night to plus 127 degrees Celsius during the day.
18. Moon day
One lunar day is equal to 29.5 days on Earth. On the Moon, it takes 29.5 Earth days for the Sun to cross the entire sky.
19. "Ares I" and "Ares V"
Humans have not landed on the moon for 41 years. Nonetheless, NASA is working on new rockets, Ares I and Ares V, which will be able to deliver payloads to the moon and return.
20. Progress
Smartphones are far more powerful today than the computers used to land Apollo on the moon.