Moon, the enduring icon of thousands of romantic poems, is a far more interesting place than poets could ever imagine and yes, it's definitely not made of cheese. Here are some interesting facts about our planet's sole companion in her journey through the cosmos.
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Earth's sole satellite, the Moon, orbits in a "Gravitational Tango" for over 4.5 billion years.
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Nowadays, there is renewed interest in exploration of the satellite, as the mineral deposits there, have caught the attention of the world. It has large deposits of Titanium on its surface which has attracted considerable attention in recent decades.
Also, there are plans of building a permanent station there. Eventually, colonization of our only satellite and other planets like Mars is imminent and inevitable as man would want to leave the cocoon of the Earth and spread beyond its confines.
Interesting Facts
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The Moon, at 4.5 billion years old, ranks fifth in size among 173 natural satellites.
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Moon: 384,403 km from Earth, 30x Earth's diameter. Light's trip: 1.28 sec.
Moon: Diameter 3,474 km, about one-quarter Earth's radius. Surface area is less than one-tenth of Earth's total.
Moon's orbit tilted 5.145° to Sun's equatorial plane (Ecliptic).
Moon's gravity: 1/6 Earth's. Mass constant, weight varies. Example: 72 kg on Earth = 12 kg on Moon.
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Moon's synchronous rotation: Rotates and orbits same. One side faces Earth, one hidden.
20th July, 1969, marked a big leap in the history of mankind, as Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin became the first men to land on the Moon, through the Apollo 11 space mission.
Its surface is pockmarked by millions of craters, which were created by the impact of massive asteroids. The biggest impact crater is 2,240 km in diameter and is 13 km deep.
It has almost no atmosphere, due to low surface gravity.
A day on the moon lasts for a month and the night that follows also lasts for a month. During the day, temperature reaches 107° C and during the night, it drops down to around -153° C.
Sea tides on Earth are caused by the Moon's gravitational pull on the oceans.
Normally 12 'Full Moons' per year. Extra 13th Full Moon after 2-3 years, called 'Blue Moon'.
Solar eclipses happen during a New Moon phase, while lunar eclipses occur during a Full Moon. During a lunar eclipse, the Moon enters Earth's shadow when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align perfectly.
Total solar eclipses rare, Moon between Sun and Earth, casting shadow on planet.
The prediction of every future solar and lunar eclipse is done using a known cyclic pattern of repetition called the Saros cycle.
Hope you have enjoyed reading these interesting facts, as much as I enjoyed compiling them for you.