130 Interesting Facts About The Moon

Facts About Moon: The Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth. The moon is located at a distance of 384,400 km from the earth. The moon has a diameter of 3,476 kilometres (2,160 miles). It takes 1.5 seconds for sunlight to be reflected from the surface of the moon and reach the earth. Our moon ranks fifth among other satellites in the solar system in terms of diameter and size.

The Moon's gravity is about one-sixth that of the Earth's. It takes the moon 2.5 days to complete one orbit around the earth. Due to the gravitational pull of the moon and the centrifugal force produced by its orbit around the earth, the tides come and go. Due to this tide, the position of the Moon and the Earth's axis decreases and the distance between the two is reduced to 2.5 cm per year.

The moon is the only celestial body as far as humans have traveled and where humans have landed. The U.S. Apollo program landed on the moon six times between 19 and 19, and the Apollo program ended with the last equivalent landing.

Amazing Facts About Moon

The Moon gravitates around its own axis.
Approximately 49 moons could fit into Earth.
The Earth is 81 times heavier than the moon.
From Earth, only 59% of the moon is visible.
Moon dust is said to smell like spent gunpowder.
The Moon is one quarter the diameter of the Earth.
People on Earth always see the same side of the Moon.
A full moon is about five times brighter than a half-moon.
The Moon's surface gravity is roughly one-sixth of Earth's.
The Moon is surrounded by a permanent asymmetric dust cloud.
The Moon orbits Earth at an average speed of 1.28 light-seconds.
The Moon is moving approximately 3.8 cm away from our planet every year.
The crust of the Moon is on average about 31 miles (50 kilometers) thick.
The volume of Earth’s moon is the same as the volume of the Pacific Ocean.
A compass would not work on the moon because it has no global magnetic field.
Mercury and Venus are the only planets in our solar system that have no moon.
"Moonglade" is the bright reflection of the moon's light on an expanse of water.
Because there is no atmosphere on the moon, there is no twilight before nightfall.
The moon’s core is 2-4% of its mass, whereas Earth’s core is about 30% of its mass.
59% of the surface of the Moon is visible from Earth through changes in perspective.
Earth rotates 1000 miles per hour. The moon rotates much slower at 10 miles per hour.
The moon has Wi-Fi. It comes all the way from Earth, beamed by 4 infrared telescopes.
Looking down from its north pole, the moon orbits counterclockwise, from west to east.

Facts About The Moon for Kids

Although a full moon seems bright, it is actually reflecting just 7% of the sun’s rays.
The six Apollo crews came back to Earth with a total of 850 pounds (385 kg) of the moon.
Among those whose densities are known anyway. The first densest is Jupiter's satellite Io.
A full day on the moon, from one sunrise to the next, lasts about 29 Earth days on average.
On average, the moon is 238,750 miles (384,400 km) from Earth, or about 30 Earth widths away.
On November 17, 1970, the Soviet robot Lunokhod 1 was the first vehicle to travel on the moon.
The only person ever to play golf on the moon was Alan Shepard. His golf ball was never found.
Aitken is the name of the Moon's largest crater, which measures 1,240 miles (1,995 kilometers).
The Moon's temperature ranges from -279 °F (-172 °C) at night to 260 °F (126 °C) in the afternoon.
Cellphones today are 400 times more powerful than the computer that helped guide humans to the moon.
Babylonian astronomers were the first to understand and record the lunar cycles in the 5th century BC.
The first picture of the other side of the Moon was taken in 1959 by Soviet Union's Luna 3 spacecraft.
Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the moon, took about four days and six hours to get to the moon.
Earth’s moon doesn’t orbit around Earth’s equator, like many other planets’ moons. It’s inclined 20-30°.
Smartphones are more powerful than the computers used to land Apollo spacecraft on the surface of the Moon.
The mistakenly called "dark side" (or far side) of the Moon is actually illuminated as often as the near side.
Because the surface of the moon has no wind or water, an astronaut’s footprint could last for millions of years.
An average desktop computer holds five to 10 times more computing power than was used to land a man on the moon.
The Moon is not a perfectly round sphere - it's an oval, egg-shaped satellite thanks to the Earth's gravity pull.

Mind Blowing Facts About Moon

The moon’s phases have historically been linked with madness, and the word “lunatic” comes from this association.
Scientists are unsure why the maria, which make up 16% of the moon, is concentrated on the near side of the moon.
The Moon completes an orbit around Earth every 27.3 days but only shows the same phase to Earth in around 29.5 days.
The moon’s gravity has slowed the speed of Earth’s rotation. Long ago, it was much faster and days were much shorter.
A total of 12 people have been to the Moon. Neil Armstrong (1969) was the first, and Eugene Cernan (1972) was the last.
From the moon, Earth is almost four times the size of a full moon from Earth, and it never moves across the moon’s sky.
A 13,000-year-old eagle bone found in France appears to have served as a counting stick to track the phases of the moon.
The expressions "Luna," "Cynthia," and "Selene" have also been used to refer to the Moon, both in science and literature.
The apparent size of the Moon is roughly the same as that of the Sun, making it possible to witness a total solar eclipse.
The first person to draw a map of the moon as it appears through a telescope was British astronomer Thomas Harriot (c. 1560-1621).
Driving a car to the moon would take 130 days. A rocket would take 13 hours. Traveling by the speed of light would take 1.52 seconds.
Aristotle and Pliny the Elder believed that a full moon affected the water in a human’s brain, causing insanity or irrational behavior.
A June 2019 poll revealed that 6% of Americans believe the moon landing was staged, and 15%, said they don’t know if it was real or fake.
The exosphere - Moon's own atmosphere - is composed of helium, neon, and argon, and it is ten trillion times less dense than that of Earth.
A lunar eclipse, when Earth passes between the sun and the moon, lasts longer than a solar eclipse because Earth’s shadow is so much larger.
Terrae - the Latin word for "land" or "Earth" - is the name given to the light-colored regions of the Moon. They're the satellite's highlands.
In 500 million years, the moon will be 14,600 miles farther away than it is right now. When it is that far, total eclipses will not take place.
The moon’s crust is thicker on the far side. Scientists are unsure why, though they speculate that the near side feels more gravity from Earth.

Strange Facts About The Moon

The Moon has its own quakes, even though they're weaker than those experienced on Earth. They're called moonquakes and may last up to 30 minutes.
The moon is 400 times smaller than the sun, but it is also 400 times closer to Earth—so from Earth, the moon and the sun look about the same size.
In 2002, legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin punched a conspiracy theorist in the face after the man called the moon landings a hoax and Aldrin a liar.
If Earth were one big ocean, the tidal bulge would travel once around Earth in 24 hours and 50 minutes. That’s the time of one moonrise to the next.
It wasn’t until 1665 that scientists realized that other moons orbited other planets. Earth’s moon’s official name then became a capitalized “Moon.”
The same side of the moon always faces Earth because the moon takes the same length of time to rotate once as it does to travel all way around Earth.
This was a Soviet craft, which was launched from the USSR. It passed within 5995 km of the surface of the Moon before going into orbit around the Sun.
The Moon's time zone is called Lunar Standard Time (LST). A year consists of 12 days named after the 12 astronauts that first set foot on the satellite.
It is the fifth-largest natural satellite in the Solar System, and the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits.
From Earth, both the Sun and the Moon look about same size. This is because, the Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun, but also 400 times closer to Earth.
The Soviet Union was the first nation to have a spacecraft reaching the surface of the Moon. In 1959, the uncrewed Luna 2 made contact with the celestial body.
The fresh tracks left by 1960s and 1970s astronauts on the Moon could remain intact for millions of years because of the absence of water and wind on the Moon.
There are three kinds of moon rocks: basalt (dark), anorthosite (light), and breccia (a mixture of several rocks). These types of rocks are also found on Earth.
Maria - the Latin word for "seas" - is the name given to the dark lunar plains that were once filled with water and can be seen with the naked eye from the Earth.
The Moon's forces of attraction are responsible for the Earth's tides. The Sun also has a tidal effect on our planet, even though with significantly less influence.
Strange colored lights have sometimes been seen briefly on the moon’s surface. Scientists believe these lights are made by gases that leak from deep inside the moon.

100 Facts About The Moon

The first probe to reach the moon was the Soviet space probe Luna 2. It crash-landed on the moon in 1959. The first probe, Luna 1, missed the moon by 3,000 miles (5,000 km).
The moon is the fifth largest satellite in our solar system. It is the largest moon in relation to the size of its planet. It is the second densest moon after Jupiter’s moon Io.
Even though moons in the solar system are very different from one another, they have at least two things in common: (1) they orbit a planet and (2) they only reflect light from the sun.
In 2018, scientists announced "definitive evidence" of water on the surface of the Moon. In 2020, astronomers revealed the detection of molecular water on the sunlit surface of the Moon.
The most widely-accepted explanation is that the Moon was created when a rock the size of Mars slammed into Earth, shortly after the solar system began forming about 4.5 billion years ago.
Not all full moons are the same size. Their size varies depending on whether the moon is at its apogee (far away) or perigee (nearby). The moon is generally 14% bigger when at its perigee.
Before astronomers realized solar eclipses were caused by the moon, the Chinese thought an enormous dragon swallowed the sun, and they made as much noise as possible to scare the dragon away.
Moonquakes reach a peak roughly every 14 days, which is when the moon is closest to and farthest away from Earth. This is also when the tidal forces produced by Earth’s gravity reach their peak.
The word "moon" derives from the Old English expression "mōna," which comes from the Proto-Germanic term "mēnōn," which in turn originates from the Proto-Indo-European word "mēnsis," meaning "month".
The secret project was during the height cold war was known as “A Study of Lunar Research Flights” or “Project A119” and meant as a show of strength at a time they were lagging behind in the space race.
The gravitational force of the moon in relation to Earth slows Earth’s rotation by about 1.5 milliseconds per century and raises the moon into higher orbit by about 3.8 centimeters or 1.5 inches per year.
The Soviet Luna 9 was the first soft landing on the lunar surface, proving that a stable landing on the moon was possible. Until then, astronomers worried that spacecraft might sink into the lunar surface.
Tidal drag between the moon and Earth eventually would lead Earth to match the speed of the moon. However, before that would happen, the sun would have become a red giant, engulfing and incinerating Earth.

Cool Facts About The Moon

The moon’s rotation appears to wobble a bit so that a little of the far side can sometimes be seen. However, most of the far side was completely unknown until the Soviets photographed it in 1959 with Luna 3.
The “dark side” or far side of the moon is actually not always dark. It reflects light as often as the near side, once per lunar day, during the new moon phase (when the Earth-facing side is completely dark).
The lunar surface is just slightly brighter than worn asphalt but reflects sunlight and gets a high contrast from the surrounding dark sky. Interestingly, the Moon reflects three times less sunlight than Earth.
The Moon has much weaker gravity than Earth, due to its smaller mass, so you would weigh about one sixth (16.5%) of your weight on Earth. This is why the lunar astronauts could leap and bound so high in the air.
On July 20, 1969, the Apollo II lunar module (named Eagle) landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon. The last person to stand on the moon’s surface was Eugene Cernan in 1972.
Although compared to the night sky it appears very bright, with a reflectance just slightly higher than that of worn asphalt. Its gravitational influence produces the ocean tides, body tides, and the slight lengthening of the day.
According to many stories across cultures, the “man in the moon” was placed in the moon for stealing. Different cultures offer various descriptions of what he stole, ranging from a hedgerow to sheep to trying to steal the moon itself.
This means that the surface of the Moon is unprotected from cosmic rays, meteorites and solar winds, and has huge temperature variations. The lack of atmosphere means no sound can be heard on the Moon, and the sky always appears black.
In astrology, the moon represents the inner nature of a person. The moon sign reveals a person’s emotional and subconscious state. In Western astrology, the moon is associated with the maternal, while the sun is associated with fatherhood.
When the moon is at its apogee (farthest from Earth), the tides and weather tend to be more predictable. When the moon is at its perigee (closest to Earth), the increased gravitational pull can create larger tides and more unstable weather.
The first man to set foot on the Moon in 1969 was Neil Armstrong on the Apollo 11 mission, while the last man to walk on the Moon in 1972 was Gene Cernan on the Apollo 17 mission. Since then the Moon has only be visited by unmanned vehicles.
Unlike the rising sun, which moves along the horizon in the same pattern every year, the rising moon follows a complex 18.6-year cycle. Ancient civilizations understood this complex cycle and built monuments that tracked the moon’s movement.
The entire surface of the moon is covered in a layer of crushed and powdered rocks called regolith (from the Greek rhegos = blanket + lithos = rock). The dust is a result of millions of years of bombardment from space by tiny micrometeorites.

Fun Facts About The Moon

In approximately 15 billion years, the moon and Earth’s gravitational pulls on each other would stabilize. But in approximately 7 billion years, the sun will have become a red giant star, completely engulfing and incinerating the moon and Earth.
The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth. Its near side is marked by large dark plains (volcanic ‘maria’) that fill the spaces between the bright ancient crustal highlands and the prominent impact craters. Learn more about the Moon's phases
In November 2009, NASA declared that it had discovered water on the moon that could allow for the development of a space station on the moon. The water is billions of years old, which could give scientists clues into the history of the solar system.
They're not called earthquakes but moonquakes. They are caused by the gravitational influence of the Earth. Unlike quakes on Earth that last only a few minutes at most, moonquakes can last up to half an hour. They are much weaker than earthquakes though.
The oldest known map of the moon, about 5,000 years old, was found carved into a rock in a prehistoric tomb at Knowth, County Meath, in Ireland. Before this was discovered, the oldest known lunar map was by Leonardo da Vinci, which was created around 1505.
The moon was worshipped by many cultures as a goddess. The ancient Greeks and Romans even had three lunar goddesses to represent the moon’s changing phases. Artemis (Diana) was the new moon, Selene was the full moon, and Hecate was the dark side of the moon.
The moon has just one-sixth the gravity of Earth. This means that the astronauts’ suits that weighed 178 pounds on Earth weighed only about 30 pounds on the moon. The high jump world record is about 8.2 feet (2.5 m)—on the moon, that would be 50 feet (15 m).
An annular eclipse occurs when the moon is too small to block the whole sun and leaves a ring of light visible. This eclipse happens because the moon’s orbit is not a perfect circle, so when the moon is farthest away from Earth, it appears smaller in the sky.
The moon has had a violent history. It underwent what scientists call a Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) or “lunar cataclysm” period somewhere between three and four billion years ago. During this time, the moon (and, most likely, Earth) was bombarded with meteorites.
According to the Outer Space Treaty, the moon is under the same jurisdiction as international waters. The treaty also says the moon can be used for peaceful purposes by all nations, and it prohibits weapons of mass destruction or military bases of any kind on the moon.
When it comes to its chemical composition, the lunar surface is composed of silica (45 percent), alumina (14.9-24.0 percent), lime (11.8-15.9 percent), iron oxide (5.9-14.1 percent), magnesia (7.5-9.2 percent), titanium dioxide (0.6-3.9 percent), and sodium oxide (0.6 percent).
There are two basic types of terrain on the moon: bright and dark. The bright terrain is called “highlands” because it is higher in elevation. The dark terrain is called the lunar “maria” (Latin for “seas”) and is lower in elevation. The highlands are typically older than the maria.
There are two bulges in the Earth due to the gravitational pull that the Moon exerts; one on the side facing the Moon, and the other on the opposite side that faces away from the Moon, The bulges move around the oceans as the Earth rotates, causing high and low tides around the globe.
The origin of the Moon is not unanimous among the scientific community. Nevertheless, the prevailing theory is that both the Earth and the Moon system formed after a giant clash of a Mars-sized body with the proto-Earth that blasted material into Earth's orbit and then formed the Moon.
This is in the form of ice trapped within dust and minerals on and under the surface. It has been detected on areas of the lunar surface that are in permanent shadow and are therefore very cold, enabling the ice to survive. The water on the Moon was likely delivered to the surface by comets.
Easter is calculated based on the moon. The holiday is the first Sunday after the first Saturday after the first full moon after the equinox. Interestingly, as archetypal symbols of the feminine, fertility, rebirth, and the lunar cycle, rabbits have been associated with the moon in many mythic traditions.
Most scientists believe the moon formed as a result of a “Giant Impact,” or “Giant Whack.” According to this theory, a Mars-sized planet struck a glancing blow to early Earth. The impact “splashed off” rocks and debris into space, forming a huge ring around Earth that later clumped together to form the moon.
At full and new moon, the moon and sun line up with Earth. The extra pull of gravity makes higher tides, called “spring tides” (which has nothing to do with the season). At the moon’s first and third quarters, when the sun and moon form a right angle with Earth, the tides are weaker and are called “neap tides.”
At 3,475 km in diameter, the Moon is much smaller than the major moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Earth is about 80 times the volume than the Moon, but both are about the same age. A prevailing theory is that the Moon was once part of the Earth, and was formed from a chunk that broke away due to a huge object colliding with Earth when it was relatively young.
In reality both sides of the Moon see the same amount of sunlight however only one face of the Moon is ever seen from Earth. This is because the Moon rotates around on its own axis in exactly the same time it takes to orbit the Earth, meaning the same side is always facing the Earth. The side facing away from Earth has only been seen by the human eye from spacecraft.
Everyone knows that the Moon is partly responsible for causing the tides of our oceans and seas on Earth, with the Sun also having an effect. However, as the Moon orbits the Earth it also causes a tide of rock to rise and fall in the same way as it does with the water. The effect is not as dramatic as with the oceans but nevertheless, it is a measurable effect, with the solid surface of the Earth moving by several centimetres with each tide.
The phrase “once in a blue moon” traditionally refers to an impossible event or an event that rarely happens. The term “ blue moon” has its roots in the Old English word belewe or “betrayer” because an extra full moon before Lent was viewed as a “betrayer moon.” Scholars believe that belewe eventually morphed into the word blue. In the mid-twentieth century, the Farmer’s Almanac by Sky and Telescope magazine mistakenly defined a blue moon as a second full moon in a calendar month. The moon can actually appear blue if there are particles in the air that are larger than red light wavelength (.7 micron), which can occur during volcanic eruptions or forest fires.

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