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The Moon is Earth 's only natural satellite. It orbits at an average distance of 384,400 km (238,900 mi), about 30 times the diameter of Earth. Over time Earth's gravity has caused tidal locking, causing the same side of the Moon to always face Earth.
- Natural Satellite
The Moon orbiting around Earth (observed by the Deep Space...
- Moon (Disambiguation)
Celestial bodies. Natural satellite or moon (generic); Moon,...
- View Source
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- Far Side of The Moon
Photograph of the far side of the Moon, with Mare Orientale...
- Near Side of The Moon
The names of the major maria and some craters on the near...
- Tidal Locking
Tidal locking results in the Moon rotating about its axis in...
- Planetary-Mass Object
Planetary-mass satellites larger than Pluto, the largest...
- Satellite Planet
Planetary-mass moons larger than Pluto, the largest Solar...
- List of Proposed Missions to The Moon
A replica of Luna 9, the first spacecraft to land on the...
- Orbit of The Moon
Elliptic shape. The orbit of the Moon is a nearly circular...
- Natural Satellite
Earth's axis of rotation is tilted with respect to the perpendicular to its orbital plane around the Sun, producing seasons. Earth is orbited by one permanent natural satellite, the Moon, which orbits Earth at 384,400 km (1.28 light seconds) and is roughly a quarter as wide as Earth.
- 29.7827 km/s, (107218 km/h; 66622 mph)
- 0.99726968 d, (23h 56m 4.100s)
- 0.4651 km/s, (1674.4 km/h; 1040.4 mph)
- Elemental Composition
- Formation
- Geologic History
- Lunar Landscape
- Lunar Magma Ocean
- Lunar Rocks
- Internal Structure
- See Also
- References
- External Links
Elements known to be present on the lunar surface include, among others, oxygen (O), silicon (Si), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), aluminium (Al), manganese (Mn) and titanium (Ti). Among the more abundant are oxygen, iron and silicon. The oxygen content is estimated at 45% (by weight). Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) appear to be present only ...
For a long period of time, the fundamental question regarding the history of the Moon was of its origin. Early hypotheses included fission from Earth, capture, and co-accretion. Today, the giant-impact hypothesisis widely accepted by the scientific community.
The geological history of the Moon has been defined into six major epochs, called the lunar geologic timescale. Starting about 4.5 billion years ago, the newly formed Moon was in a molten state and was orbiting much closer to Earth resulting in tidal forces. These tidal forces deformed the molten body into an ellipsoid, with the major axis pointed ...
The lunar landscape is characterized by impact craters, their ejecta, a few volcanoes, hills, lava flowsand depressions filled by lava.
The first rocks brought back by Apollo 11 were basalts. Although the mission landed on Mare Tranquillitatis, a few millimetric fragments of rocks coming from the highlands were picked up. These are composed mainly of plagioclase feldspar; some fragments were composed exclusively of anorthite. The identification of these mineral fragments led to the...
Surface materials
The Apollo program brought back 380.05 kilograms (837.87 lb) of lunar surface material, most of which is stored at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston, Texas, and the uncrewed Soviet Luna programme returned 326 grams (11.5 oz) of lunar material. These rocks have proved to be invaluable in deciphering the geologic evolution of the Moon. Lunar rocks are in large part made of the same common rock forming minerals as found on Earth, such as olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase feldspar (anort...
Composition of the maria
The main characteristics of the basaltic rocks with respect to the rocks of the lunar highlands is that the basalts contain higher abundances of olivine and pyroxene, and less plagioclase. They are richer in iron than terrestrial basalts, and also have lower viscosities. Some of them have high abundances of a ferro-titanic oxide called ilmenite. Because the first sampling of rocks contained a high content of ilmenite and other related minerals, they received the name of "high titanium" basalt...
The current model of the interior of the Moon was derived using seismometersleft behind during the crewed Apollo program missions, as well as investigations of the Moon's gravity field and rotation. The mass of the Moon is sufficient to eliminate any voids within the interior, so it is estimated to be composed of solid rock throughout. Its low bulk...
Cited referencesScientific referencesGeneral referencesThe Moon makes a complete orbit around Earth in 27 Earth days and rotates or spins at that same rate, or in that same amount of time. Because Earth is moving as well – rotating on its axis as it orbits the Sun – from our perspective, the Moon appears to orbit us every 29 days.
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4 days ago · Moon, Earth’s sole natural satellite and nearest large celestial body. Known since prehistoric times, it is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun. It is designated by the symbol ☽. Its name in English, like that of Earth, is of Germanic and Old English derivation.
- James D. Burke
Apr 20, 2020 · The lunar map, called the “Unified Geologic Map of the Moon,” will serve as the definitive blueprint of the moon’s surface geology for future human missions and will be invaluable for the international scientific community, educators and the public-at-large.
May 23, 2023 · How far is the moon from Earth? On average, the moon is approximately 238,860 miles (382,500 km) away from Earth, equivalent to about 30 Earth diameters. How big is the moon compared to...
