Moon Facts

The Moon is one of the fascinating celestial objects. People are enthralled by its beauty. Many poets enticed by its charm have made pomes on it. But how many of us know about the Moon, the facts about it? This is an attempt to bring some important facts about the Moon for the benefit of the readers.

Formation
According to giant impact theory, initially the sun did not have any moon around it. 25 years of research by scientists has led to the conclusion that the moon was formed about 100 million years after the Sun came into existence, which was 4.6 billion years ago.

It has been found after prolonged research that the Moon was the result of the crashing of an object of the size of Mars into the Earth. Scientists explain that immediately after the struck, most of the hitting object and a sizable chunk of earth got immediately vaporized. A big cloud was formed at a distance of about 13,700 miles above the earth which got condensed into a number of solid particles. The particles aggregated in to moonlets, which combined forming the Moon.

The age of Lunar rocks measured by the researchers have found to be 4.6 billion years, which goes to prove the above theory of formation.

Some data about the Moon
1. The mass of the Moon is 7.3x10 to the power of 22 Kg., which is 1/8th of the weight of the Earth.
2. It has a diameter of 3,476 Kms (2138 miles) which is less than the distance across the United States of America.
3. The Moon’s distance from the Earth is 384400 kms.
4. The Moon does not have any water on its surface.
5. One lunar day is more than 650 hours. Moon takes about 27.3 days to make a round the earth. It takes the same time to revolve around its own axis. This synchronization of time is the reason for the moon showing only one side of it to the Earth.
6. The speed of the moon orbiting around the Earth is 2300 miles (3700 Kms) per hour.
7. The temperature on the surface of the Moon is very high. The Moon does not have any atmosphere. The temperature on the moon rises up to 243 degrees Fahrenheit or 117 degrees Celsius in the day. The night temperature on the Moon is -173 degrees Celsius.

Missions and landings
About 72 missions both successful and unsuccessful have taken place in the 40 years period between 1958 and 1998. 12 people have so far landed on the moon successfully. The First man’s landing on the Moon happened in the year 1969. However, no man was sent to the Moon after 1972. Only 3 countries have so far sent people to Moon. It is the only object in the entire solar system which has been visited by the human beings.

Shape of the moon on the earth
One important and beautiful phenomenon about the shape of the moon as it appears to the earth is its ‘waxing and waning’. The orbiting of the moon around the earth and its own axis and the earth’s rotation around its axis causes this occurrence. Actually, no waxing and waning take place.

It is the illuminated portion of the Moon that appears to the earth, make the people think so. The illuminated portion of the Moon varies daily with the movement of the earth, moon and the sun. Full moon appears when the earth comes between the Moon and the Sun. The new moon occurs when the Moon comes in between the earth and the sun, with the non-visible portion of the Moon being illuminated by the Sun. This interesting appearance of the Moon towards the Earth has made it a divine to some religious people on the earth.

Ocean bulges
The Moon has a gravitational pull on the Earth. This pull causes two bulges on the earth’s ocean – one that is facing the moon and the other one being away from the moon. The two bulges, one strongest and the other weakest respectively create high tides on the oceans. This happening is observable daily on the Earth’s oceans.

No self-illumination
Though, the Moon appears very bright during night time it does not have its own light. The sun light falling on the Moon illuminates the Moon, making it bright to look.

Habitation on the Moon
Considering the low gravitational force and high temperature, human habitation on the Moon is not possible. Moreover it does not have water. Scientists and researchers are of the opinion the Moon can be an ideal place to setup a scientific base. They are also studying how to extract Oxygen from the Moon’s dirt.

The exploration so far conducted has not brought the full facts about the Moon. There are a lot that has to be brought out for the benefit of the humanity. Till such time let us watch the Moon and appreciate its splendor.