Unit 4 - The World Beyond Us
Group Writing - The Moon
Members: Sze Han, Natalie, Alethea, Miyabi, Mei Ci
Table of Contents
1) Introduction (By Sze Han)
2) The Phases of the Moon (By Natalie)
2) How Old is the Moon? (By Natalie)
3) Why Can’t We See the Moon at Times? (By Miyabi)
4) Size and Distance of the Moon (By Sze Han)
5) Orbit and Rotation (By Alethea)
6) How Many Moons are There? (By Miyabi)
7) Structure (By Alethea)
8) Neil Armstrong (By Alethea)
9) Why We Can’t Live On the Moon (By Mei Ci)
10) Why Will We Float On the Moon? (By Mei Ci)
11) Why are Scientists Studying the Moon? (By Natalie)
12) Observation and Exploration (By Mei Ci)
13) Fun Facts (By Everyone)
14) Glossary (By Everyone)
___________________________________________________________________________
The Moon
Introduction
Moons come in different shapes and sizes. The Moon is a large natural object
that orbits, or travels around, Earth. After the Sun it is the brightest object in the
sky. Compared to the distance between other planets and Earth, the distance
between the moon and Earth is small. In fact, the Moon is close enough to affect
the level of seas on Earth. Every day the seas seem to rise and fall. This is because
of a force called gravity. The Moon’s gravity pulls on Earth. It is too weak to affect
the whole planet, but it does make the water move. This creates tides.
The Phases of the Moon
(Video: What are the Moon's phases?)
Our Moon doesn't shine, it reflects. Just like daytime here on Earth, sunlight
makes the Moon visible. We just can't always see it. When sunlight hits off the
Moon's far side — the side we can't see without the help of a spacecraft — it is
called a new Moon.
When sunlight reflects off the near side, we call it a full Moon. The rest of the
month, we see parts of the daytime side of the Moon, or phases. These eight
phases are, in order, new Moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing unbalanced,
full Moon, waning gibbous, third quarter and waning crescent. The cycle repeats
once a month (every 29.5 days).
How Old is the Moon?
The moon is 4.53 billion years old!
Why can’t you see the moon at times?
Half of the moon is facing towards the Sun, and the other half of the moon is not.
The new moon phase happens monthly when we cannot see the moon and this is
because of our view from Earth, as the moon orbits us. During the new moon
phase the moon is between the sun and earth and the side that is bright is facing
away. Sometimes the Moon looks like a full circle. Other times it appears as only a thin
slice or looks completely dark. However, the Moon’s shape does not change—it just
looks that way from Earth.
Size and Distance of the Moon
About 1740 kilometers away, the Moon is less than a third of the width of Earth. If
Earth were the size of a nickel, the moon would be about as big as a coffee bean.
The moon is an average of 384400 kilometers away. That means 30 earth —-sized
planets could fit between earth and the moon.
Orbit and Rotation
The moon is rotating at the same rate that it goes around Earth, so the same
hemisphere faces Earth all the time. Some people call the far side- the
hemisphere we never see from Earth - the “dark side”.
How many Moons are there?
The "traditional" moon count most people are familiar with stands at 226: One
moon for Earth; Two for Mars; 95 at Jupiter; 83 at Saturn; 27 at Uranus; 14 at
Neptune; and 5 for dwarf planet Pluto. According to NASA’s Solar System
Dynamics team, astronomers have documented another 462 moons orbiting
smaller objects, such as asteroids, dwarf planets, or Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs)
beyond the orbit of Neptune ( one of the planets in our solar system).
Structure
The Moon is slightly more than one quarter the size of Earth. Its diameter, or
through its center, is about 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers).
The Moon is made mostly of rock. The surface has thousands of pits called
craters. The craters form when chunks of rock and metal called meteorites crash
into the Moon. These crashes have covered the Moon’s surface with rocks and
dust. The Moon also has plains made of lava that erupted from volcanoes billions
of years ago.
During the daytime, when the Moon faces the Sun, its surface temperature
averages about 225° F (107° C). However, at night the temperature drops to about
−243° F (−153° C).
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut
who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a test pilot,
and university teacher.
Is the Moon a planet?
Technically no, for it revolves around the Earth rather than directly around the
Sun. But the Moon is a large world, comparable in size to the planet Mercury. In
composition, origin, and history, the Moon is like a terrestrial planet, resembling
the Earth in many ways, different in others.The star which is the action of forming
hot gasses, energy, light and heat, which doesn't refer to the moon's qualities. So
the moon is not a planet or a star.
Why We Can’t Live On the Moon
Have you ever wondered why we cannot live on the moon? Well, the moon has
almost no whole mass of air surrounding the earth, so there's no air for us to
breathe. There is no water on the moon either, and we need to drink water to live.
Days and nights on the moon last over two weeks long! This means the surface
reaches super hot and cold temperatures: as high as 123°C or as low as −233°C.
Why Will We Float On the Moon?
If 90 percent of Earth's gravity reaches the space station, then why do astronauts
float there? The answer is because they are in free fall. In a vacuum, gravity
causes all objects to fall at the same rate. The mass of the object does not matter.
Why are Scientists Studying the Moon?
Have you ever wondered why scientists are going to the moon? Are they there to
study? Well, The Moon is the only world besides Earth ever visited by humans. By
studying the Moon, scientists can piece together Earth's origin story. NASA may
fly a Planetary Society-funded sample collection system called PlanetVac to the
lunar surface as early as 2024.
Phases and Eclipses
When viewed from Earth, the Moon looks different at different times. These varying
appearances are called phases. Sometimes the Moon looks like a full circle. At other times it
appears as only a thin slice or looks completely dark. However, the Moon’s shape does not
change—it just looks that way from Earth. The Moon reflects light from the Sun. As the Moon
orbits Earth, the Sun shines on different parts of the Moon. This causes different parts to be
visible from Earth.
Observation and exploration
People have observed the Moon since long ago. In the 1600s the invention of the
telescope allowed people to study the Moon more closely.
Even greater advances in knowledge have come from the many spacecraft sent to
the Moon since 1959. In 1966 Luna 9, a spacecraft from the Soviet Union, became
the first fixed craft to successfully land on the Moon. In 1969 the U.S. Apollo 11 craft
carried the first people—Neil Armstrong and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin, Jr.—to walk on
the Moon. Ten other astronauts have walked on the Moon since then.
Fun facts
● The moon is drifting away from Earth.
● The moon is made when a rock smashed into Earth.
● The moon quakes too!
● There is water on the moon!
● The Moon began with an explosive collision.
● It used to look much bigger.
● Moon dust smells like gunpowder.
● Surface temperatures reach boiling point.
● Those craters can unlock space history.
● You always see the same side of the Moon.
● The Moon causes tidal bulges.
The Moon exerts a strong gravitational pull that causes the changing tides in our
oceans and seas. This gravitational pull is at its strongest during the New Moon
and Full Moon, so here we experience the highest and lowest tides.
Glossary
● Atmospheres - The atmosphere is a mixture of gasses that surrounds the
Earth.
● Synchronous rotation - Describes the rotation of an object that always
shows the same face to an object that it is orbiting because its rotation
period and orbital period are equal.
● Hemisphere - Any circle drawn around Earth divides it into two equal
halves called hemispheres.
● Orbit - to travel in a curved path around a much larger object such as the
Earth, the Sun etc The satellite orbits the Earth every 48 hours.
● Gravity - the force that causes something to fall to the ground or to be
attracted to another planet
● Tidal - relating to the regular rising and falling of the sea
Credits to:
-https://solarsystem.nasa.gov
-https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/interesting-facts-about-moon?wvideo=2p66
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