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Earth's Moon in South West Scotland (Picture by GallowayNightSky) |
Apart from our Sun, there is one other object the dominates the skies above us in GallowayThe Moon is the Earth's Only Natural Satellite The Moon lies at an average distance of just 240,000miles/385,000km. We can enjoy wonderful views of its mountains, valleys and other formations. It is the only world other than our own that humans have visited and explored.
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The naked
eye is enough to detect some of the features on it's surface, but any small
telescope and even binoculars will bring into view the spectacular craters
that have permanently scarred its surface. We only get to see the features on one side of the Moon because it keeps the same face toward us throughout its orbit. 40% percent of the lunar surface remains permanently out of view from Earth |
CURRENT MOON
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MOON FACTSDiameter: 3476 Kilometers Mass: 0.012 X Earth Density: 3.3 X water True period of rotation: 27.32 days Phase cycle (synodic period) 2953 days Axial inclination: 6.5' |
| The lunar
landscape has barely changed over millions of years. The Moon has no light
of its own and shines because of reflected sunlight. As the Moon travels in its orbit around the Earth, it shows different phases. Parts of the Moon move from darkness into daylight as the Sun rises over the local lunar horizon. The 'daytime' period lasts for two week for any one spot on the Moon before the Sun sinks below the horizon again and the area is plunged into two weeks of darkness. The darkness comes suddenly. Temperatures plummet from more than 217'F/100'c to less than -275'F/-170'c. |
We see the phases change from a fine crescent in the evening sky through a
half phase, than gibbous (as the waxing and waning are known), until Full
Moon. The process then reverses as the Moon continues its orbit and wanes back to a crescent in the morning sky. The Moon becomes invisible as it lies in the same general direction as the Sun. This is the time of the New Moon, when the Sun's light falls entirely on its far side.
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The Moon is a lot less dense than the Earth, which rules out the idea that they might have formed as twin worlds. Astronomers favorite theory is that the Moon formed when another giant body collided with the Earth billions of years ago, throwing a vast quantity of our planet's outer layers into space. The material came together and slowly solidified into our satellite. It was not until around a billion years ago, the Moon still had a hot interior. Major asteroid impacts would cause its outer crust to crack open, allowing molten lava to flood out. It formed the huge flat plains that we call the maria, or lunar seas. The seas are, of course dry, there is no water.
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Link Words Moon, Earth, Satellite, moon, Luna, Crater, Craters, Volcano, Volcanoes, Galileo, Images of the Moon, Picture, Statistics, Fact, Moon Description, Moon Information, Size, Facts about the moon. GallowayNightSky Did You Know Fact! - The Moon moves away from the Earth 3.4cm each year.
Fun Sites to Explore http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kids/index.cfm http://www.solarviews.com/eng/moon.htm
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The Apollo Missions Website Here The Moon at Views of the Solar System Here The Lunar Prospector website Here
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