The Moon is a natural satellite of Earth. Earth only sees one face of the Moon at all times because of the Moon's synchronous rotation. This is due to the fact that the Moon rotates on its axis the same amount of time that it takes to complete an orbit around Earth. The current explanation for the formation of the Moon is called the giant impact hypothesis. Which proposes that an object the size of Mars collided with Earth, blasting Earth's outer layers into space. These layers would then be orbiting around Earth, accreted together forming our moon, which is about 7.342x1022 Kilograms.
The composition of our moon is similar to Earth’s outer layers, but the Moon has a smaller proportion of easily vaporized ingredients (for example, water) than Earth. This …show more content…
The largest crater on the Moon is called Aitken which measures 2,500 km across and can be as deep as six km in certain areas. Large, flat, smooth areas known as the maria are pools of solidified lava, filling the basins caused by particularly large impacts; However, the surface facing away from us, sometimes referred to as the “dark side” of the Moon, has mostly a cratered surface.
When we look at the moon, we see its phases. We see the different phases because of the Moon's position around Earth. This cycle has a 29 & 1/2 day orbit; in which, we see 8 different phases: Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, Waning Crescent, and New Moon. When the Moon looks like it's increasing, we say it’s Waxing, and when it's decreasing, we call it Waning. We say that the current phase is a New Moon is when we can't see the Moon, and Full Moon is when its surface is as visible as we can see from Earth. All other phases are in between these
The composition of our moon is similar to Earth’s outer layers, but the Moon has a smaller proportion of easily vaporized ingredients (for example, water) than Earth. This …show more content…
The largest crater on the Moon is called Aitken which measures 2,500 km across and can be as deep as six km in certain areas. Large, flat, smooth areas known as the maria are pools of solidified lava, filling the basins caused by particularly large impacts; However, the surface facing away from us, sometimes referred to as the “dark side” of the Moon, has mostly a cratered surface.
When we look at the moon, we see its phases. We see the different phases because of the Moon's position around Earth. This cycle has a 29 & 1/2 day orbit; in which, we see 8 different phases: Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, Waning Crescent, and New Moon. When the Moon looks like it's increasing, we say it’s Waxing, and when it's decreasing, we call it Waning. We say that the current phase is a New Moon is when we can't see the Moon, and Full Moon is when its surface is as visible as we can see from Earth. All other phases are in between these