• The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest moon in the solar system.
• The Moon's presence helps stabilize our planet's wobble and moderate our climate.
• The Moon's distance from Earth is about 240,000 miles (385,000km).
• The Moon has a very thin atmosphere called an exosphere.

• The dark side of the moon is a myth. ...
• The rise and fall of the tides on Earth is caused by the Moon. ...
• The Moon is drifting away from the Earth. ...
• A person would weigh much less on the Moon. ...
• The Moon has only been walked on by 12 people; all American men. ...
• The Moon has no atmosphere. ...
• The Moon has quakes.

How cold is the Moon?

The average temperature on the Moon (at the equator and mid latitudes) varies from -298 degrees Fahrenheit (-183 degrees Celsius), at night, to 224 degrees Fahrenheit (106 degrees Celsius) during the day.

Can a moon have a moon?

A subsatellite, also known as a submoon or moonmoon, is a natural or artificial satellite that orbits a natural satellite, i.e. a "moon of a moon". It is inferred from the empirical study of natural satellites in the Solar System that subsatellites may be elements of planetary systems.

What are 5 interesting facts about the moon?

What is moon made of?

The Moon is made of rock and metal—just like the Earth and the other rocky planets (Mercury, Venus and Mars). The crust, the Moon's outer shell, is covered by lunar soil, also called regolith: a blanket of fine rock particles, varying between three and 20 metres (10–65 feet) deep.

What makes the moon unique?

The Moon is unique in that it is the only spherical satellite orbiting a terrestrial planet. The reason for its shape is a result of its mass being great enough so that gravity pulls all of the Moon's matter toward its center equally. Another distinct property the Moon possesses lies in its size compared to the Earth.

Does it rain on the moon?

The moon has a very thin atmosphere so it cannot trap heat or insulate the surface. There is no wind there, no clouds, no rain, no snow and no storms, but there is “day and night” and there are extreme differences in temperatures depending on where the sun is shining.

How did the moon get its name?

The word moon can be traced to the word mōna, an Old English word from medieval times. Mōna shares its origins with the Latin words metri, which means to measure, and mensis, which means month. So, we see that the moon is called the moon because it is used to measure the months.

Why is space black?

Because space is a near-perfect vacuum — meaning it has exceedingly few particles — there's virtually nothing in the space between stars and planets to scatter light to our eyes. And with no light reaching the eyes, they see black.

Is moon male or female?

The modern English poetic usage when personifying the sun and moon has taken up the French or Romance gender for sol (masculine) and luna (feminine), instead of retaining the Germanic grammatical genders where the sun is feminine and the moon masculine. The middle of the night.

How long is 1 day on the Moon?

The short answer is this: A day is the length of time between two noons or sunsets. That's 24 hours on Earth, 708.7 hours (29.53 Earth days) on the Moon.

How many moons are there?

Earth has one moon, and there are more than 200 moons in our solar system. Most of the major planets – all except Mercury and Venus – have moons. Pluto and some other dwarf planets, as well as many asteroids, also have small moons.

How hot is the moon's core?

At its very centre, the Moon has a solid iron core with a temperature of between 1,327°C and 1427°C. This is hot enough to create a surrounding molten liquid iron outer core, but not hot enough to warm the surface. The mantle which envelops the core is roughly 1,000 kilometres thick.

Is the moon bigger than the Earth?

The moon is a bit more than one-fourth (27 percent) the size of Earth, a much larger ratio (1:4) than any other planets and their moons. Earth's moon is the fifth largest moon in the solar system. ... The moon's equatorial circumference is 6,783.5 miles (10,917 km).

Does the Moon actually glow?

Unlike a lamp or our sun, the moon doesn't produce its own light. ... Moonlight is actually sunlight that shines on the moon and bounces off. The light reflects off old volcanoes, craters, and lava flows on the moon's surface.

What will happen when moon disappear?

It is the pull of the Moon's gravity on the Earth that holds our planet in place. Without the Moon stabilising our tilt, it is possible that the Earth's tilt could vary wildly. It would move from no tilt (which means no seasons) to a large tilt (which means extreme weather and even ice ages).

How old is the moon?

Scientists looked to the moon's mineral composition to estimate that the moon is around 4.425 billion years old, or 85 million years younger than what previous studies had proven.

Can humans breathe on the Moon?

Scientists might have found a way to help people survive on the Moon. ... The Moon doesn't have an atmosphere or air for humans to breathe. But its surface - which is covered by a substance called lunar regolith (Moon dust!) - is almost 50% oxygen.

Is there oxygen in the Moon?

But the surface and interior of the moon are virtually devoid of oxygen, so pristine metallic iron is prevalent on the Moon and highly oxidised iron has not been confirmed in samples returned from the Apollo missions. Additionally, hydrogen in solar wind blasts the lunar surface, which acts in opposition to oxidation.

What Colour is the Moon?

So there's your answer; the Moon's true color is grey, but appears to us in whatever color the Earth's atmosphere makes it appear. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.