Think you know everything about the moon? Think again! Here are 10 interesting facts about the moon. Some of them you may already know, and some will be completely new. Enjoy!
1. The moon formed from the earth.
Scientists believe that the Moon was formed when a huge object the size of the planet Mars crashed into our planet about 4.5 billion years ago. The collision was so great that huge chunks of the earth's rocks were ejected into space. Under the gravity of the Earth, the ejected debris gathered in Earth orbit and formed our satellite. As soil studies show, it consists of a less dense material that contains little iron. This suggests that the composition of the moon is
2. The moon is always one side to the Earth.
Why does the moon face only one side of the earth? There is an erroneous opinion that many years ago it, like our planet, rotated around its axis. However, the Earth's gravity does not act uniformly on the Moon. Some aspects of it are more strongly attracted to the Earth than others. That is why, billions of years ago, the gravity of the Earth stopped the rotation of this planet around its axis. Now the side that is more amenable to earthly gravity is facing us. However, this is not true. The thing is that the moon rotates around its axis. It's just that the period of rotation of the Moon around its own axis coincides with the period of rotation of the Moon around the Earth - that's why we see only one side of it.
3. The moon is slowly moving away from us.
Despite the fact that the moon's orbit seems stable and uniform, in fact, our satellite is moving away at a rate of 4 centimeters per year. In about 50 billion years, it will stop its receding and will be located in a stable orbit. The moon's orbit around the earth will take 47 days (in this moment 27.3 days).
4. The moon appears to be the same size as the sun.
This is an amazing coincidence. From our point of view on Earth, the moon and the sun appear to be the same size. Of course, the Sun is much larger than the Moon, about 400 times, but at the same time, 400 times further from us. But this was not always the case. Billions of years ago, the moon was located closer to the Earth and seemed much larger than the sun.
5. The moon causes tides on Earth.
Most likely you already know that the tides are caused by the gravitational attraction of our satellite. But it is not the only one that affects the strength of the tides. When the positions of the Moon and the Sun coincide in the sky, then the strongest ebbs and flows occur on Earth. In addition to water, the moon also bends with its gravity the earth's crust our planet, but this is not noticeable in comparison with the tides.
6. Gravity on the surface of the satellite is only 17% of the earth.
Imagine that your weight is 100 kg. Standing on the surface of the moon, you would weigh only 17 kg. You could walk 6 times the distance and carry 6 times the weight of the earth. Using only the strength of your own muscles, you would be able to make short flights over the surface of the moon.
7. The official name of the earth's moon is the Moon.
I know this fact sounds strange. But when our satellite was named the Moon, astronomers did not know what was in our solar system there are other planets with the same satellite moons. Now the moons in our system are distinguished simply: our satellite is called the Moon, with capital letter"L", and the moons of other planets with a small one.
8. The moon is a 5m satellite of the solar system.
In fact, the largest moon is the satellite of Jupiter - Ganymede, which is 5262 km in diameter, followed by the satellite of Saturn - Titan, Jupiter - Callisto and Io, and finally the Moon with its average diameter of 3475 km.
9. Why is the surface of the moon in craters?
The fact is that, unlike the Earth, it does not have its own atmosphere that would protect it from cosmic bodies in the form of meteorites. When a meteorite enters the Earth's atmosphere, due to friction with the air, it catches fire and in most cases burns out before reaching the surface. On the Moon, everything that falls to the surface leaves huge imprints in the form of craters. The largest crater on the moon is called Aitken, which is about 2000 km in diameter. The dotted line in the image shows the dimensions of this crater, which is also the largest crater in the entire solar system.
10. During the entire existence of the moon, 12 people visited it.
Only a small group of astronauts have ever set foot on the surface of the moon. The first was Neil Armstrong in 1969, and the last to walk on the moon was Gene Cernan in 1972. Since then, there have been no missions with people to the surface of our satellite.
How far are the nearest planets to us? Probably too far. Spacecraft reach Venus in four months, and Mars will take about two and a half years. But the satellite of our planet, the Moon, is only a three days way. About the same time the train goes from Moscow to Abakan. The only difference is that we will go to Abakan by train or fly by plane, and we will have to fly to the Moon by rocket.
Origin
The Moon is the only celestial body that no one has ever doubted that it revolves around the Earth. Also in Ancient Greece scientists created a theory of the motion of the moon, and even learned how to predict the solar and Lunar eclipses. Moon calendar appeared even earlier: the ancient Sumerians used it already around 2500 BC.
Where did the so well-known, familiar and long-time familiar Moon come from?
There have been many interesting hypotheses about this. It is believed that a long time ago, a small planet the size of Mars collided with the Earth. As a result of a terrible collision, a significant part of the Earth's substance was ejected into near-Earth orbit and subsequently formed the Moon.
Structure and surface
The moon can be divided into several layers (like all the planets of the solar system). In the very center is a solid iron core, covered with a molten shell of iron. Around the core is a partially melted boundary layer, and then there is a thick layer of rocky mantle.
Most upper layer The moon is called the crust. At the time of the final formation of the planets of the solar system, the mantle of the moon was liquid, and especially large meteorites, breaking through the lunar crust, caused magma to flow to the surface.
Subsequently, these areas cooled and darkened. It is they who correspond to the extensive dark spots on the lunar surface. Previously, people thought that the dark areas on the moon were filled with water, so they called them seas. When it turned out that there is no atmosphere on the Moon (which means that liquid water cannot be there, since it will immediately freeze or evaporate), the names were not changed, especially since they are very beautiful and romantic: the Sea of Clarity, the Rainbow Bay, the Lake of Dreams , there is even a Sea of Plenty. On the Moon, bright craters with diverging in different sides silver beams. They were also formed as a result of asteroids falling on the Moon, but much later, when the mantle solidified and did not flow out to the surface after the collision.
Research
The Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 first reached the moon in 1959. Ten years later, American astronaut Neil Armstrong managed to land on the moon.
During the active exploration of the Moon, dozens of scientific experiments were carried out, various soil samples were taken, many photographs and panoramas of the lunar relief were obtained. To date, we know much more about the Moon than about any other large cosmic body with the exception of the Earth. Currently, projects are being developed in various countries to create both inhabited and uninhabited lunar bases. It is quite possible to implement these projects, but some difficulties associated with the lack of atmosphere will have to be overcome. For example, many small asteroids, when falling to the Earth, are heated by friction against the air and burn out before reaching the earth. On the Moon, even a small pebble the size of a fist, hitting a building, can lead to tragedy, easily breaking through almost any defense. Flares on the Sun will also cause a lot of trouble, during which the radiation background is greatly enhanced.
It is possible that the first lunar bases will be built in small caves, which are occasionally found on the surface of the moon. There it will be easier to hide from meteorites and protect yourself from radiation. In addition, it is easier to do from a construction point of view - instead of building the entire base, you only need to close up the entrance and let in air brought from Earth.
moon illusion
When we look at the Moon, which is near the horizon, it seems to us that it is much larger than the Moon that we observed in the sky. This is an optical illusion. What is known about this illusion is that it is really an illusion: the moon does not change its size when traveling through the sky. There are several various theories explaining this effect. According to one of them, how big or small we see an object in the sky depends on the size of other objects that we observe next to it. Thus, when we observe the Moon close to the horizon, other objects fall into our field of vision, against the background of which the Moon seems larger than it actually is. This feature of our vision is illustrated by the following picture.
The orange circle on the left, surrounded by large blue circles, appears smaller than the orange circle on the right, surrounded by small blue circles. In reality, the orange circles are the same size. You can see for yourself by printing the picture and measuring the diameters of the circles with a ruler. However, this can be done by attaching a ruler to the monitor.
Interesting
Interestingly, the periods of revolution of the Moon around its own axis and around the Earth are the same. This leads to the fact that the Moon all the time "looks" at the Earth with one side. Because of this feature, we can only observe a little more than half of the lunar surface. Here's what it looks like.
The part of the moon that is not visible to an observer from Earth is called the far side of the moon. The far side of the moon was first photographed by the Soviet lunar station Luna-3 in 1959.
Konstantin Kudinov
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The moon has been haunting human minds since the beginning of time. And even today, in the era of progress, you can find many outlandish stories and statements about the Moon on the Internet. They range from fantastic conspiracy theories to really weird anomalies that scientists can't yet explain.
#1 Size and orbit perfect
Over the past few years, there have been several total eclipses of the Sun by the Moon. In fact, already what people can observe similar phenomenon, is a real miracle. It has long been known that the Moon is the only satellite that allows you to observe a total eclipse from the surface of the planet. In the case of the Earth, it all has to do with the relative sizes of the Sun and Moon and the Earth's distance from them. The moon is about one quarter the size of the earth. And now for the oddities.
The diameter of the moon is about 400 times smaller than the diameter of the sun. But the Moon is also 400 times closer to the Earth than the Sun. Also, the Moon has a perfect circular orbit around the Earth, unlike all other known satellites. This creates the impression that the Moon and the Sun are the same size in the sky. Although this is most likely a coincidence, his chance is several million to one. Conspiracy theorists never tire of proving that the reason for this is simple: the Moon is an "artificial object" and its size and orbit are precisely adjusted.
#2 Hollow
Carl Sagan stated in his book "Intelligent Life in the Universe" in 1966 that the planet's natural satellite cannot be hollow. Most agreed with him. Therefore, scientists were shocked when seismic equipment on the Moon registered significant reverberations on November 20, 1969, after the landing of the Apollo 12 lunar module on the surface of the Moon. The moon not only "rang like a bell," it did so for over an hour. According to the data, this suggests that the moon is hollow.
During the next mission, the reverberation was measured again. This time the effect was even greater, and the "ringing" lasted more than three hours. Despite speculation that the Moon may indeed be hollow, based on NASA's own experiments, the results were largely hidden by NASA in later years.
#3 Strange craters
The moon is simply dotted with craters that have formed over the billions of years of its existence. Oddly enough, these craters are the same in depth. According to what scientists know today, these craters would have to vary greatly in depth, but this is not the case on the Moon. Most agree that this is just an anomaly, but some argue that the Moon is artificial or hollow, and consider these craters to be proof of their theory.
Allegedly, under the rocky lunar surface, there is an "inner shell" consisting of some metal material, capable of absorbing impacts and evenly distributing them over the entire surface, thereby preventing the appearance of deep craters. According to some, this shell also prevents damage to what may lie underneath.
#4 Artificial structures
NASA says "artificial" structures on the Moon are optical illusions in most cases, and the result of blurry, low-quality images in other cases. However, enthusiastic UFO enthusiasts claim that these images are irrefutable proof of alien and artificial structures on the Moon. Even in a couple of minutes on the Internet you can find a bunch of similar photos, some of which are quite convincing. But reliable evidence, of course, is not enough.
One of these anomalies is called the Shard, and can be found in NASA photographs. In the picture you can see an artificial structure rising above the surface. The fact that it casts a shadow leads many UFO researchers to dismiss the idea. optical illusion. Interestingly, at a relatively short distance is another alleged structure "The Tower", which is estimated to be about 11 kilometers high.
#5 Artificially placed in orbit
There is no doubt that life on Earth would change dramatically without the Moon. For humans, it may even become impossible. The moon stabilizes terrestrial oceans and the polar regions of the planet, which creates the seasons that allow most parts of the planet and life to flourish.
However, many ancient writings seem to describe a time before the moon appeared in the Earth's sky. Some believe that the Moon is an artificial structure, specially placed in a precisely calculated orbit to stabilize conditions on Earth.
#6 Alien intelligence base
If some unknown ancient civilization purposefully placed the Moon in Earth's orbit, then the only logical assumption would be that it was done by an extraterrestrial race. For example, the controversial explorer and author David Icke argues that the Moon is artificial satellite, transmitting signals from Saturn to our planet and creating a "matrix", which is our reality.
#7 Unique rotation
Everyone has heard about dark side The moon that people have never seen. Many people think that the Moon is always turned to the Earth on one side, since it does not rotate. But it would be more accurate to call this part of the moon the "far side" because the moon actually rotates. The Moon makes a full circle around the Earth in 27.3 days, and it rotates around its axis in 27 days. This "synchronous rotation" causes one side of the Moon to always "walk away" from our planet.
Again, the Moon is unique in this, compared to the moons of other planets. From the point of view of conspiracy theorists, this was done on purpose so that the "dark side of the moon" would be perfect place to create an alien base.
#8 The real story of the moon
In his controversial and widely derided book Letters from Andromeda, author and researcher Alex Collier claimed to have uncovered real story Moon. But here's the way he received his information, a little "alert" people - the author allegedly received "telepathic messages" from an alien who lived in the constellation "Zeneta". According to Collier, the moon was actually huge spaceship who arrived here millions of years ago. She brought back "reptilians, human-reptilian hybrids, and the first humans to walk on Earth."
Collier claims that the moon is empty, and there are several secret entrances on the surface leading inward. Beneath the surface of the moon, there is a metal shell that hides the remains of ancient alien bases from a huge war 113,000 years ago. Today, these bases are occupied by a secret world government that has worked alongside an extraterrestrial race.
#9 Dolunar story
Many ancient scriptures speak of a time "before the moon". For example, Aristotle wrote about Arcadia, stating that the earth was inhabited "before the moon was in the sky above the earth." Similarly, Apollonius of Rhodes spoke of a time "when not all the 'balls' were still in heaven."
The Chibcha tribe in Colombia also has similar oral legends that begin with the words: "In the most early times before the moon was in the heavens. The Zulus have legends that claim that the moon was "pulled" from an unimaginable distance.
#10 Secret missions
Alex Collier is not only person, which claims that there are bases on the moon. There have been numerous such claims over the past two decades, often purporting to come from anonymous individuals who have made secret documents public. One of the recent claims of a moon base was made by Dr. Michael Salla, who is working with the Chinese space agency on a manned mission to the moon. If successful, this would be the first time a man has landed on the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Salla claims that the base is part of a "military-industrial extraterrestrial complex." Even more bizarre are his comments that NASA was actively bombarding such bases, as well as "ancient artifacts and objects" to hide their existence. In addition, he stated that secret missions to explore the moon are being carried out by a "secret world government" that has entered into a secret pact with an unknown extraterrestrial race.
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The Moon itself is already unique in that it is the only spherical satellite in orbit. It is believed that the reason for this shape is that its mass is large enough for uniform attraction of matter towards the center of the satellite.
The size Moon is just over one-fourth the diameter of the Earth (3475 km) and is also a unique phenomenon. So far, astronomers have not been able to find a satellite with any planet with large or at least the same size relative to the size of the planet.
However, despite such significant dimensions for a satellite, the mass of the Moon is relatively small. This also indicates the low density of the satellite. The explanation for this phenomenon lies in the reason for the formation of the moon. Scientists have a version that during the period of the birth of the Earth, some huge cosmic body the size of . As a result of such a collision, a large number of outer mantle and crust. Gradually combining under the influence of gravitational forces, the material formed the satellite that we know today as the Moon. Considering that the outer mantle of the Earth is much less dense than the inner layers, this concept allows to some extent explain the low density of the Moon.
Observations from the Earth make it possible to consider numerous craters on the surface of the Moon. The reason for the existence of such a relief is quite simple. Unlike the Earth, the Moon is not a geologically active body, it does not have an atmosphere, and there is no volcanic activity. That is why the surface of the moon remains unchanged for centuries.
The chart below highlights the eight different phases of the moon: full moon, waxing month, first quarter, waxing moon, full moon, waning moon, third quarter and waning month.
Structure of the moon
The moon is a differentiated cosmic body and is subdivided according to its structure into the crust, mantle and core. Despite the fact that the Moon is the second (after Io) most dense satellite in the solar system, its inner core is considered very small in size, since its diameter is only about 700 kilometers, which is an insignificant indicator relative to the size of the satellite.
At the inner core, the shell is saturated with iron and has a radius of about 240 kilometers. The outer core also mostly consists of iron, only molten, its thickness is about 300 kilometers.
The lunar core also has a molten boundary layer in parts. According to the calculations of planetologists, it was formed as a result of fractional crystallization of a huge magma ocean 4.5 billion years ago. The thickness of this layer is about 480 kilometers.
Like the Earth, the Moon's mantle consists mainly of ultramafic rocks, which, unlike those contained in the crust, contain minor impurities of silicon oxides and a fairly large amount of iron and magnesium. Olivine and pyroxene are the main rock-forming minerals.
The average thickness of the lunar crust is about 50 kilometers. Because of the periodic moonquakes caused by the Earth's gravity, cracks can appear in it.
First man on the moon
Twelve representatives of mankind were lucky to walk on the surface of the Moon. Neil Armstrong started in 1969 with the Apollo 11 mission, and last on this moment was Gene Cernan in 1972 with the Apollo 17 mission. Since 1972, manned flights to the moon have been discontinued, and the study of the Earth's satellite has remained in the field of automatic spacecraft.
In the near future, man may visit the moon again. Related to this are the plans of leading space agencies such as NASA, Roskosmos and ESA. Perhaps as early as the 2020s, the first space station will appear on the Moon.
Man's first step on the moon
“It's one small step for a man, but a giant leap for all mankind”, - this famous phrase was said by Neil Armstrong descending to the surface of the moon.
The moon has no dark side. Both sides of the Moon receive the same amount of sunlight, but given that the Moon is tidal to the Earth, earthlings can only ever see one side of it. This side reflects sunlight and people can see it even with the naked eye, then information about the so-called "dark side" was obtained using spacecraft.
Ebb and flow on Earth is carried out precisely with the help of the Moon. They arise as a result of its gravitational attraction. Tides occur on the side of the Earth that is currently facing the Moon, while tides occur on the other side.
Each year, the Moon slowly moves away from the Earth, by about 3.8 centimeters. According to scientists this process will continue for another 50 billion years.
If you were on the moon, you would weigh much less. The lunar gravity is much weaker than the Earth's gravity. This is due to the fact that its mass is much less. That is, your weight on the Moon would be only one-sixth (about 16.5%) of your weight on Earth.
In the 1950s, the United States planned to detonate an atomic bomb on the moon. The secret project was developed at the height of the Cold War and was called "Project A119". The main goal of such an extraordinary plan was to demonstrate military and space superiority to the USSR. Fortunately, the idea was never carried out.
The moon has no atmosphere. The surface of the Earth's satellite is absolutely not protected from cosmic rays, meteorites, asteroids, comets and solar winds. That is why there are such huge temperature fluctuations on the Moon, and its entire surface is covered with craters. The absence of an atmosphere also means that no sound can be heard on the Moon, and the sky is always black.
There are tremors on the moon. The gravitational pull of the Earth causes small moonquakes that occur several kilometers below the surface and form small tears and cracks. It is believed that the Moon has a molten core like the Earth.
