The moon is the closest space body and the only satellite of the Earth. For millennia, people have looked at the moon, deified it, made calendars according to it and navigated by it at night. Still, despite its relative proximity and sufficient scientific knowledge, this satellite of the Earth continues to hide many interesting secrets. The moon is fraught with many more secrets and mysteries, which, of course, are worth taking a closer look at.
10. Moonquakes
Despite the fact that the moon seems lifeless, a kind of huge piece of dead stones, there is still a lot of geological activity in its depths. That is, earthquakes occur on the Moon as well as on Earth. These earthquakes, like planetary tremors, are called moonquakes and there are four different types of them. The first three types of moonquakes are caused by the impact of meteorites and the thermal energy of the Sun. The fourth type of moonquakes is quite unpleasant. These small moonquakes can reach 5.5 on the Richter scale and can last for a very long period of time - 10 minutes.
The worst part is that scientists have no real idea what is causing these quakes. Earthquakes on Earth tend to occur as a result of tectonic plate movements, but there is no active tectonics on the Moon.
9. Double planet
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Most people think that the Moon is a satellite of the Earth, but nowadays many scientists believe that the Moon should be classified as one planet within the Double Planet. First, it is too big to be a "real" satellite of the planet. The moon is about one quarter of the Earth's diameter.
Due to the large size of the Moon, the Earth does not revolve around itself. In fact, the Earth and the Moon revolve around each other, or rather around a point between them. This point is called the barycenter. The only thing, however, is that the barycenter of our Double Planet is currently located inside the Earth's crust. The fact that the barycenter remains inside the Earth is almost the only reason why the Earth and the Moon are not classified as two planets. However, this may change in the future.
8. Lunar debris
Everyone knows that a person was on the moon, but not everyone knows that, like wherever a person is, people left garbage there. Over time, astronauts on the Moon left 181.437 kg of debris made of artificial materials. This debris is the remnants of various experiments, lunar probes and lunar rovers. Some of them, in fact, are still in effect.
7. The moon is a burial ground
Eugene Merle Shoemaker, a famous astronomer and geologist, was something of a legend in his field. He made many scientific discoveries and came up with the methods and techniques used by astronauts during the Apollo mission. Shoemaker dreamed of flying into space himself, but this was not destined to come true. When he died, NASA fulfilled his cherished wish and sent his capsule with his burial ash to the moon in 1998. His ashes were scattered among the lunar plains.
6. Lunar anomalies
Some photographs taken from various spacecraft have revealed very strange things on the lunar surface. Many of these objects are very similar to artificial structures that range in size from tiny canisters to huge objects that are at least 1.6 kilometers high. All of this seems to indicate an advanced civilization that lives on the moon and builds complex structures.
5. Moon dust
One of the most amazing hazards on the moon is moon dust. As you know, sand on Earth falls into all sorts of places. And moon dust is as fine as flour. Thanks to this texture and low gravity on the moon, it gets into absolutely all places of spacecraft exploring the moon. It is believed that prolonged exposure to lunar dust may even lead to breakdown of locks and equipment at future lunar stations. Yes, of course, moon dust has a sour smell and smells like gunpowder.
4. Difficulty with low gravity
Although the force of gravity on the moon is one-sixth of the earth's, it is by no means easy for a person to move on its surface. The spacesuits of the American astronauts who visited the moon during the Apollo program were clumsy and their legs sank in the moon dust up to 15 cm.
Despite the low gravity, the inertial force (resistance to changes in motion) on the moon is high, so it is very difficult for a person on the moon to quickly stop or change direction abruptly.
3. The origin of the moon
Where did the moon come from? In fact, science still cannot give an exact answer to this question. However, there are five main theories about the origin of the moon. The Fission Theory claims that the Moon used to be part of our planet, which at some very early stage in the history of the Earth separated from it. The Capture Theory says that the Moon was just a cosmic body that roamed the universe until the Earth's gravitational field captured it. Other theories say that our satellite was either formed from several asteroids, or is a remnant from the collision of the Earth with an unknown planet.
2. Moon and sleep
The moon affects the earth and vice versa. However, its impact on humans remains a source of ongoing debate. Many believe that the full moon causes strange behavior in humans, although science has not been able to offer conclusive evidence for this. The only thing that science has been able to confirm is that the moon can influence our sleep cycles.
1. Moon Shadows
When American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first saw the alien landscape of the Moon, they were amazed that the shadows on the Moon were much darker than on Earth due to the lack of an atmosphere. Wherever the sun did not shine, there was pitch darkness. As soon as their feet stepped into the shadows, they could not see them, despite the fact that the sun was sparkling in the sky.
The shadows of the moon caused problems for other astronauts on the Apollo missions. Some astronauts found maintenance and repair tasks impossible to complete because they did not see their own hands in the shadows. It seemed to other astronauts that they were on a steep slope of a cliff because of the thick shadow, although they were on a plain.