From very long time, the Moon has been a fascination for philosophers, poets and scientists, and a constant presence in our night sky. From its origins to its influence on human life. Moon is also Earth’s majestic companion satellite and for us its our lovely Chanda mama(uncle).
Interesting Facts About the Moon
Moon is moving away from Earth
It’s not something you’d notice by looking up in the night sky, but the Moon is actually moving away from our planet at a rate of 3.8 centimetres (1.5 inches) per year, which is about the same rate at which human fingernails grow.
The Moon use to be closer to Earth, billions of years ago, but due to “lunar retreat,” which happens when the gravity of the Moon pulls at the oceans and the oceans pull back a little, increasing the orbit of the Moon, our dear satellite is spinning away from us.
Only Americans have walked on the Moon
So far, only 24 American men have ever gone to the Moon and only 12 of them physically walk on its surface though four other countries and two political unions have visit the Moon with unmanned spacecraft.
The U.S. has complete 32 missions, while the Soviet Union complete 23 and was actually the first to reach the Moon in 1959.
China, Japan, Luxembourg, the European Union and India have also complete missions to the Moon.
There is a documentary about the last person on the Moon
Most people know Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the Moon, but few know the name of the last man to have taken these rare and special steps.
As part of the Apollo 17 mission, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt land on the Moon’s surface on 11th December, 1972.
They both walk on its surface, but because Eugene Cernan was the last to board the spacecraft after Schmitt, he is officially credited as the last man on the Moon.
There is a 2014 documentary about his life titled The Last Man on the Moon.
Eugene Cernan died in 2017 at the age of 82.
There is water on the Moon
It looks like a barren rock, but there is actually water on the Moon.
In the late 2000s, scientists discover hydration on the Moon but were not able to determine if it was hydroxyl (OH) or water (H2O).
In 2020, NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) confirm that there is water present on the sunlit areas of the Moon, but it is still very dry compare to Earth.
By comparison, the Sahara Desert has 100 times the amount of water that’s detect in lunar soil.
Moon appears red during a lunar eclipse
During a lunar eclipse, the full Moon passes through the shadow of Earth.
The shadow blocks the sunlight that normally reflects on the Moon, but the light of the Sun that bends through Earth’s atmosphere still reflects off the Moon, giving it a reddish-brown appearance.
The ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus first predict lunar eclipses more than 2,000 years ago, and the word “eclipse” comes from the Greek “ekleipsis,” meaning to disappear, cover up or abandon.
Moon has many natural resources
The Moon is rich in natural resources and could be mine for gold, platinum, rare earth metals and possibly even water.
Particularly exciting for the future of space travel is the way in which the water can be split into its hydrogen and oxygen components and liquefied to make rocket fuel.
This would allow longer voyages to use the Moon as a kind of refuelling station.
Plants can grow in Moon soil
Scientists have been experimenting with soil samples brought back to Earth decades ago by the Apollo astronauts and have discover that the lunar surface material, also call as regolith, is capable of sustaining plant life.
It’s an exciting discovery for the future of space exploration, which could allow astronauts to grow their own food in space.
Moon’s craters are always named after people
Ever wonder how the multitude of lunar craters get their names?
Traditionally they have been name after scientists or philosophers, such as Copernicus, Archimedes or the Aristarchus crater.
The current guidelines for naming newly discover craters is that they must be name after a scientist or explorer who has made important contributions to astronomy and especially to the study of the Moon and our solar system and has decease for at least three years.
In addition, the name cannot be the same as any existing lunar location.
Moon probably broke off of Earth
Scientists have long theorize that the Moon is actually a piece of planet Earth that broke off billions of years ago after a massive collision with another celestial body.
Modern chemical analysis and physics theory seem to support the idea.
There are quakes on the Moon
Apollo 11, the first spaceflight that allow people to land on the Moon, also provide important evidence about lunar make-up and seismology.
Power by solar cells, instruments place on the lunar surface in 1969 collect data about the strength, duration, and direction of seismic activity or quakes on the Moon and relayed the information back to Earth.
Moon has other names
While the other 170 natural satellites in our solar system are name after mythical figures, like Phobos, Callisto and Ganymede, our simply name Moon seems boring by comparison.
But our Moon actually has many known names, including Selene, as it was call by the ancient Greeks, the Roman name Luna, and Man or Mani in ancient German.
In Arabic, the Moon is name Merenda, and in Malay it’s call as Bulan.
Earth’s tides are cause by the Moon
If you’ve ever been on a beach during high or low tide, you know how dramatic the difference can be, but did you know that it’s the Moon that makes these tides happen?
The Moon and Earth pull on each other with gravity, and the Moon’s gravitational pull causes the oceans to bulge, creating high and low tides.
Scientists believe that the tides were actually crucial in the development of life on Earth, as the tug on the ocean water may have help the first photosynthetic microbes to form.
Moon has its own time zone
The Moon has its own time zone dubbed Lunar Standard Time which is based on the motion of the Sun as seen from the Moon.
However, the time that is more commonly use, when discussing the Moon and other places in our solar system, is Universal Time, which is a modern form of Greenwich Mean Time that measures time as the same as it is on Earth.
A day on the Moon is longer than it is on Earth
One lunar day lasts for 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes.
This is measure by the time it takes for the Moon to make one orbit around Earth.
Like Earth, the Moon also spins on its own axis, but its rotation is much slower than ours.
Moon is not actually round
While it might appear as a perfect sphere all the way from here, the shape of the Moon is actually closer to that of a lemon.
Believed to be a piece of ancient Earth that broke off, the forming Moon was susceptible to the tidal forces and gravity, which pull on the lunar crust, heating it up and stretching it at the poles that lined up with Earth.
This result in two small bulges at either end, making it similar to a lemon shape.
Moon’s younger than we thought
While we know that the Moon is actually a section of broken Earth that form during a collision billions of years ago, this happen later than scientists once thought.
In 2020, researchers at the German Aerospace Center and the University of Münster calculate that the Moon is actually 85 million years younger than previous estimates.
Computer simulations suggest the Moon form about 4.425 billion years ago, and took 150 to 200 million years to crystallize from its magma form after it broke off from Earth.
There isn’t really a “dark side” of the Moon
You’ve probably heard of the “dark side” of the Moon, but in reality, all sides of the Moon receive the same amount of light.
Like Earth, the Moon rotates and experiences day and night, which we see from our perspective as the phases of the Moon.
The side we don’t see isn’t dark, just hidden from our position on Earth, so it’s more accurately refer to as the “far side” of the Moon.
A NASA scientist proposed detonating a nuclear bomb on the Moon
After the first successful Apollo mission in 1969, one NASA scientist, Gary V. Latham, actually proposed an experiment to detonate a one- to five-kiloton nuclear bomb on the Moon as a way to study its interior.
He posited that the Russians would assist in the plan, and that the potential radiation wouldn’t be a problem for life on Earth if the bomb went off on the far side of the Moon.
Not surprisingly, his proposal was never seriously consider.
Moon does have some gravity
The weightlessness we see astronauts experience during space voyages might lead to the conclusion that there is no gravity in space, but in reality every massive object in space, including the Moon, does have some level of gravity.
The Apollo mission astronauts were only able to walk on the Moon’s surface because of gravity, but the force is considerably less than it is on Earth.
A person on the Moon would feel about 17% of the gravitational pull that they would normally experience on our planet.
There will soon be people going to the Moon again
NASA is currently training astronauts for the next phase of Moon exploration known as the Artemis mission.
The criteria and selection process for the next Moon visitors is strict, and new recruits will likely spend two and a half years in training, including time on the International Space Station, before qualifying for missions.
The Artemis program, which will see crew Moon landings, will not happen until after 2024.
NASA hopes to establish a permanent base on the Moon in order to help facilitate a mission to Mars in the future.
