The Moon itself is already unique in that it is the only spherical satellite in orbit. The reason for this shape is thought to be that its mass is large enough to pull matter uniformly towards the center of the satellite.
Size Moon is just over one-fourth the diameter of the Earth (3475 km) and that too unique phenomenon. So far, astronomers have not been able to detect a satellite of any planet with large or at least the same dimensions relative to the size of the planet.
However, despite such a significant size for a satellite, the mass of the Moon is relatively small. This also indicates low density satellite The explanation for this phenomenon lies in the reason for the formation of the Moon. Scientists have a version that during 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 coming together under the influence of gravitational forces, the material formed the satellite we know today as the Moon. Given that the Earth's outer mantle is much less dense than its inner layers, this concept goes some way to explaining the Moon's low density.
Observations from Earth allow us to see 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 is not observed volcanic activity. This is why the surface of the Moon remains unchanged for centuries.
The diagram 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 according to its structure is divided into crust, mantle and core. Despite the fact that the Moon is the second densest satellite in the solar system (after Io), its inner core is considered to be very small in size, since its diameter is only about 700 kilometers, which is an insignificant indicator relative to the size of the satellite.
U inner core the shell is saturated with iron and has a radius of about 240 kilometers. The outer core also consists mostly of iron, only molten; its thickness is approximately 300 kilometers.
Also near the lunar core there is partly molten boundary layer. According to the calculations of planetary scientists, it was formed as a result of processes 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 fairly large amounts of iron and magnesium. Olivine and pyroxene are the main rock-forming minerals.
The average thickness of the lunar crust is about 50 kilometers. Due to periodic moonquakes caused by the Earth's gravity, cracks can appear in it.
First man on the moon
Twelve representatives of humanity were lucky enough to walk on the surface of the Moon. It was started by Neil Armstrong in 1969 as part of the Apollo 11 mission, and lastly on this moment was Gene Cernan in 1972 with the Apollo 17 mission. Since 1972, human flights to the Moon have been stopped, and the study of the Earth's satellite has remained in the field of unmanned spacecraft.
In the near future, man may visit the Moon again. The plans of leading space agencies such as NASA, Roscosmos and ESA are related to this. Perhaps already in the 2020s the first space station will appear on the Moon.
Man's first step on the moon
"It is one small step for man, but a giant leap for all mankind.”, - this famous phrase said Neil Armstrong as he descended 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 connected to the Earth by tidal forces, earthlings can always see only one side of it. This side reflects sunlight and people can view it even with the naked eye, then information about the so-called “ dark side"was obtained using spacecraft.
The ebb and flow of the tides on Earth are 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 this moment faces the Moon, while low tides occur on the other side.
Every year, the Moon slowly moves away from the Earth by about 3.8 centimeters. According to scientists' calculations this process will continue for another 50 billion years.
If you were on the moon, you would weigh much less. Moon gravity is much weaker than 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 50s, the United States planned to blow up atomic bomb on the moon. A secret project was developed in the midst of 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 implemented.
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. This is why there are such huge temperature fluctuations on the Moon, and why its entire surface is covered with craters. The lack of an atmosphere also means that not a single sound can be heard on the Moon, and the sky is always black.
There are tremors happening on the Moon. Gravitational attraction The Earth leads to small moonquakes that occur several kilometers below the surface and form small ruptures and cracks. The Moon is believed to have a molten core like the Earth.
Perhaps every person has looked at the Moon at least once in his life. And even schoolchildren know certain facts about it. We have collected for our readers less well-known, but no less interesting facts about the satellite of our planet.
1. The moon was created as a result of a collision
The moon appeared as a result of a collision. Scientists believe that the Moon was formed from the debris of the Earth and space object the size of Mars after their collision.
2. 206 thousand 264 Moons
In order for it to be as light at night as during the day, about three hundred thousand moons would be needed, and 206 thousand 264 moons would have to be in the full moon phase.
3. People always see the same side of the moon
People always see the same side of the Moon. The Earth's gravitational field slows down the Moon's rotation around its axis. Therefore, the rotation of the Moon around its axis occurs in the same time as its rotation around the Earth.
4. The far side of the moon
The far side of the Moon is more mountainous compared to the one visible from Earth. This is explained by the force of gravity of the Earth, which has led to a thinner crust on the side facing our planet.
5. Moon Tree Seeds
More than 400 trees growing on Earth were brought from the Moon. The seeds of these trees were taken by the crew of Apollo 14 in 1971, orbited the Moon and returned to Earth.
6. Asteroid Cruithney
The Earth may have other natural satellites. The Cruithney asteroid moves in orbital resonance with the Earth and makes full turn around the planet in 770 years.
7. Craters on the surface of the Moon
Craters on the surface of the Moon were left by meteorites 4.1 - 3.8 billion years ago. They are still visible only because, geologically, the Moon is not as active as the Earth.
8. There is water on the moon
There is water on the moon. The Earth satellite has no atmosphere, but does have frozen water in shadowed craters and beneath the soil surface.
9. The moon is not a perfect ball
The moon is not actually a perfect sphere. It is rather egg-shaped due to the influence of Earth's gravity. In addition, its center of mass is not in the center of the cosmic body, but approximately two kilometers away from the center.
10. Crater named...
The lunar craters were first named after famous scientists, artists and explorers, and later after the names of American and Russian cosmonauts.
11. Moonquakes
On the Earth's satellite there are... moonquakes. They are caused by the gravitational influence of the Earth. Their epicenter is located several kilometers below the surface of the Moon.
12. Exosphere
The moon has an atmosphere called the exosphere. It consists of helium, neon and argon.
13. Dancing Dust
There is dancing dust on the Moon. It hovers above the surface of the Moon (more intensely at sunrise or sunset). Dust particles rise upward due to electromagnetic forces.
The Earth's satellite is more like a planet. The Earth and Moon are a double planet system, similar to the Pluto + Charon system.
15. The moon causes the tides on Earth
The moon causes the ebb and flow of the tides on Earth. The Moon's gravitational pull affects our planet's oceans. The highest tides occur during a full or new moon.
16. The Moon is moving away from the Earth
One lunar day is equal to 29.5 days on Earth. On the Moon, it takes 29.5 Earth days for the Sun to cross the entire sky.
19. "Ares I" and "Ares V"
Men haven't landed on the moon in 41 years. However, NASA is working on new rockets, Ares I and Ares V, that will be able to carry payload to the Moon and back.
20. Progress
Today, smartphones are much more powerful than the computers used to land the Apollo on the moon.
Especially for those who are interested in geography and interesting facts, we have collected.
And the only one. How beautifully it shines at night. But let's not talk about romance. Here we will tell you some interesting facts about the moon.
1. The Moon is the second brightest object in the solar system, after the Sun itself. In addition, the Moon is the closest satellite of the planet to the sun, since Mercury and Venus, which go in front of our Earth, have no satellites at all.
2. The word Moon comes from the Proto-Slavic word “Luna”, which translates as “Light”.
3. Thanks to gravitational force There are ebbs and flows on the moon.
4. Today, many scammers are trying to make money on the moon. They sell plots on the moon and give you a certificate that says you have the right to inhabit several hundred square meters. lunar space. But even if the settlement of the moon begins, such a certificate will not have any legal force and will be considered invalid.
5. Due to the fact that there are no winds and humidity on the moon (no more than 0.1%), all the traces left decades ago, for example, the traces of astronauts, still remain on the moon. And these traces will remain there for millions of years if the Moon is not populated by this time.
6. Solar eclipses occur quite often in our lives, but catching a lunar eclipse where you are is almost impossible. This chance comes once every few hundred years.
7. Due to the fact that there is no atmosphere on the moon, day and night change instantly, i.e. there is no twilight.
8. The moon is slowly moving away from the earth. Every year it is removed, i.e. expands its orbit by 4 centimeters. Scientists have found that 4.6 billion years ago the Moon was at a distance of 22,500 km from the Earth. Now this distance is 450,000 km.
9. As mentioned above, there is no moisture on the Moon and the soil there is completely dry, so nothing can grow there. But samples of lunar soil brought to Earth show that lunar soil is quite suitable for growing plants.
10. The dark spots that we can see on the Moon are called lunar maria. In total there are 17 seas, 1 ocean (ocean of storms) and 4 bays. But despite this, as mentioned above, there is no water there and all these seas are empty. It was previously believed that there really were seas there, but this version was later refuted. Lunar seas were lowlands filled with basaltic lava, but now this lava has long since hardened. By the way, Neil Armstrong, who was the first to set foot on the surface of the Moon, landed on the surface of one of the seas, which was called the Sea of Tranquility.
11. After the members of the Apollo 11 crew arrived from the Moon to Earth, they had to go through customs. In the column “Declared cargo” there were moon rocks and moon dust.
12. The crew of the Apollo 15 spacecraft in 1971 erected something like a monument to the fallen cosmonauts on the moon, namely an aluminum figurine in a spacesuit and a plaque with the names of 14 dead astronauts. Our Yuri Gagarin was also among them.
The Moon is the cosmic body closest to Earth. However, despite this, the satellite of our planet hides a large number of secrets and mysteries that will be interesting to learn about.
The most interesting facts about the Moon that humanity knows or guesses will be given below. And at the end of the list you will probably say that you didn’t know this.
- Despite the fact that our satellite has weak geological activity, earthquakes occur on it, and some of them reach sensitive 5-6 points on the Richter scale. Moonquakes have a diverse nature - collisions with meteorites, temperature changes due to the influence of the Sun. There are also particularly strong tremors, the nature of which is still unclear. There is a hypothesis that they occur under the influence of Earth's gravity. According to members of the Apollo 11 expedition, during such activity, a sound similar to the ringing of a bell is heard for some time.
- Contrary to conventional wisdom— The Moon does not revolve around the Earth, but the Earth and the Moon rotate around one point, which is called the barycenter. Thus, according to some, the Moon cannot be considered a satellite of the Earth, since the Moon and the Earth are double planet. This is also supported by the size of the Moon, which is a quarter of the diameter of the Earth. Other planets have much smaller satellites.
- There is debris on our satellite, the total weight of which is approximately 200 tons. And, of course, all this garbage was generated by human activity - these are the remains of satellites, all-terrain vehicles, rovers and other equipment that were launched from Earth.
- Astronomer Eugene Shoemaker dreamed of becoming an astronaut and visiting the Moon. However, his health did not allow him to realize his dream. Therefore, after his death, he bequeathed to scatter his ashes on the surface of the satellite. NASA did this in 1998. The crater where this happened was named Shoemaker.
- Moon dust has the smell of burnt gunpowder and is very dangerous for equipment. Due to the low gravity on the satellite, dust grains can reach high speeds, and their structure is very aggressive. Any item, even one made of durable metal, will be significantly worn out if exposed to such dust for a long time. During the Apollo 11 expedition, dust wore out and damaged the integrity of the astronauts' spacesuits, penetrated into the spacecraft and interfered in every possible way.
- Many people think that moving on the Moon is easy because of the low gravity. However, it is not. During the expedition, the leg of an astronaut in a heavy spacesuit could sink into the ground to a depth of 15 cm. And long jumps, due to the low force of gravity, became uncontrollable and dangerous, because there are deep craters on the surface.
- There are several theories about the origin of the Moon: the satellite used to be part of the Earth and separated from it; there used to be a satellite free body, but the earth captured him with its gravity; The moon appeared from the dust of debris that was formed from the collision of the Earth with another planet. Latest theory today the most reliable.
- When telling the most interesting facts about the Moon, it is necessary, of course, to mention its influence on humans. It is reliably known that during the full moon some people suffer from insomnia, others may have nightmares.
- Due to the lack of atmosphere on the satellite, the shadows are clear and contrasting. The contrast reaches the point that during the expedition the astronauts could not fully work with parts of the ship that were in the shadows. And if you hide in the shadows yourself, you may not see your own legs and arms.
- The moon does not have magnetic field. However, the stones brought from the expedition were magnetic. They probably got onto the surface of the satellite from other cosmic bodies.
- Most craters appeared on the surface about 4 billion years ago. On Earth, these scars would have been overgrown long ago, but on the Moon there is no such strong geological activity, so they are still visible.
- This is the only cosmic body where man was.
- Our satellite has water in the form of ice, but no atmosphere.
- Yes, it is generally accepted that there is no atmosphere there, but in fact there is one, but it is very rarefied - 10 trillion times less dense than on Earth. Consists of hydrogen, neon, helium and argon.
- You can see it on the moon unusual phenomenon- dancing dust. Dust floats in the air for some time. She rises from behind magnetic influence other cosmic bodies, and most often occurs during sunset and sunrise.
- The ebb and flow of tides on Earth occur under the influence of the Moon's gravity. The satellite attracts water.
- The climate of our satellite is far from resort-like. During the day at the equator it can be hot at 127 degrees, and at night it can be cool - up to -170 degrees Celsius.
- 29.5 Earth days are the same as a day on the Moon.
- In 1969, the first and only human landing on the Moon was carried out as part of the Apollo 11 expedition. Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon. Today, progress has come so far that most smartphones have more processing power than the computers used on Apollo 11.
- The first device that landed on the surface belonged to the USSR and was called Luna-2. This happened in 1959.
- The satellite is visible to the inhabitants of the Earth only from one side. But this does not mean that the satellite does not rotate around its axis. It rotates. And its rotation period up to a second coincides with the rotation period of the earth. Therefore the other side is never seen.
- The most interesting facts about the Moon should also concern solar eclipses, which are visible from Earth. Complete solar eclipse the phenomenon is rare, and it occurs due to an amazing coincidence - the moon is 400 times closer to the Earth than the Sun, and exactly 400 times smaller in diameter than the Sun. Thus, when the Moon is in line with the Sun, they appear to be the same size from Earth.
- In the 70s, the UN declared that no state could become the owner of the Moon. However, the cunning American Dennis Howes immediately realized that we were talking only about states, and nothing was said about individuals. Therefore, he spontaneously became the owner of the Moon, founded a lunar embassy and sent his diplomatic note to other states. No matter how ridiculous the idea may seem, Howes made billions of dollars by selling plots on the Moon.
- The Sun newspaper published an article in 1835 about John Kershel, an astronomer who allegedly collected most powerful telescope and through it I was able to see fabulous unicorns, flying creatures, and beavers without a tail on our satellite. The issue sold out very quickly and was profitable for the publication. And even after the hoax was exposed, the newspaper's circulation did not fall. This event was called the “Great Moon Hoax.”
How far are the planets closest to us? Perhaps it's a bit far. To Venus spacecraft They fly in four months, but it will take about two and a half years to get to Mars. But the satellite of our planet, the Moon, is only three days ways. The train travels approximately the same time from Moscow to Abakan. The only difference is that we will go to Abakan by train or fly by plane, but we will have to fly to the Moon on a rocket.
Origin
The moon is the only thing heavenly body, about which no one ever had any doubt that it revolves around the Earth. Also in Ancient Greece scientists created a theory of the movement of the Moon, and even learned to predict solar and Lunar eclipses. Moon calendar appeared even earlier: the ancient Sumerians used it around 2500 BC.
Where did the Moon, so well known, familiar and familiar to us for a long time, come from?
There was a lot about this interesting hypotheses. It is believed that a long time ago, a small planet the size of Mars collided with Earth. As a result of the terrible collision, a significant part of the Earth's substance was thrown into low-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 there is a solid iron core, covered with a molten shell consisting of iron. Around the core is a partially molten boundary layer, followed by a thick layer of rocky mantle.
Most upper layer The moon is called the crust. During the final formation of the planets solar system the Moon's mantle was liquid, and especially large meteorites, breaking through the lunar crust, caused magma to flow to the surface.
These areas subsequently cooled and darkened. It is they who correspond to the vast dark spots on the lunar surface. Previously people They 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 (and therefore liquid water cannot be there, since it will immediately freeze or evaporate), then they did not change the names, especially since they are very beautiful and romantic: the Sea of Clarity, Rainbow Bay, Lake of Dreams, there is even a Sea of Plenty. Light craters with diverging angles are also visible on the Moon. different sides silvery rays. They were also formed as a result of asteroids falling on the Moon, but much later, when the mantle hardened and did not flow to the surface after the collision.
Research
The Soviets reached the moon for the first time spaceship Luna 2 in 1959. Ten years later, American astronaut Neil Armstrong managed to land on the Moon.
During active exploration of the Moon, dozens of scientific experiments, various soil samples were taken, many photographs and panoramas of the lunar relief were obtained. Today we know much more about the Moon than about any other large cosmic body except for the Earth. Currently in various countries Projects are being developed to create both inhabited and uninhabited lunar bases. It is quite possible to implement these projects, but you will have to overcome some difficulties associated with the lack of atmosphere. For example, many small asteroids, when falling to Earth, are heated by friction with the air and burn up before reaching the ground. On the Moon, even a small stone the size of a fist, if it hits any building, can lead to tragedy, easily breaking through almost any defense. Solar flares will also cause a lot of trouble, during which the background radiation increases many times over.
It is possible that the first lunar bases will be built in small caves that are occasionally found on the surface of the Moon. There it will be easier to hide from meteorites and protect from radiation. In addition, this is easier to do from a construction point of view - instead of building the entire base, you only need to seal the entrance and let air brought from Earth inside.
Moon illusion
When we look at the Moon, which is near the horizon, it seems to us that it is much more than that The moon we saw in the sky. This optical illusion. The only thing known for certain about this illusion is that it really is an illusion: the Moon does not change its size when traveling across the sky. There are several various theories, explaining this effect. According to one of them, how large 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 come into our field of vision, against which the Moon appears 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 this for yourself by printing the picture and measuring the diameters of the circles with a ruler. However, this can be done by applying a ruler to the monitor.
Interesting
Interestingly, the periods of the Moon's revolution around own axis and around the Earth are the same. This leads to the fact that the Moon always “looks” at the Earth with one side. Because of this feature, we can only observe slightly more than a half Lunar surface. This is what it looks like.
The part of the Moon that is not visible to an observer from Earth is called reverse side Moons. The far side of the Moon was first photographed by the Soviet lunar station Luna 3 in 1959.
Konstantin Kudinov
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