The Moon is the only natural satellite of Earth that appeared about 4.6 billion years ago. Our satellite is in synchronous rotation with Earth, which means that it is always facing the Earth with the same side.
1. Only 12 people have walked on the surface of the moon and they are all Americans. The first person to leave his mark on the moon was Neil Armstrong in 1969, and the last to become Jean Cernan in 1972. Since then, only drones have visited the Moon.
2. The Moon is the fifth-largest natural satellite. Ganymede is one of Jupiter’s moons and the largest satellite in the solar system.
3. The density of the Moon is less than the density of the Earth. Because of this, you will weigh about one-sixth (16.5%) of your Earth’s weight on the Moon.
4. Because the Moon has no atmosphere and no molecules to carry the sound waves, it is completely unprotected from meteorites and cosmic rays and there is absolute silence and the sky is always black.
5. The volume of the Moon is approximately 49 times smaller than the volume of the Earth.
6. The Moon surface exhibits large temperature fluctuations. Temperatures on the moon swing from the extremely hot – 120°C (248°F) by daytime to unbelievably cold – minus 150 °C (minus 238°F) at night.
7. Between 1969 and 1972 six Apollo missions brought back from the lunar surface a total of 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of lunar rocks, core samples, pebbles, soil, sand, and dust to Earth.
8. There is such a thing as the “The Dark Side of the Moon” – people use this phrase to describe something mysterious and unknown and it is the side that faces away from Earth. But actually, both sides of the moon receive the same amount of sunlight, it just that the other side is never facing the Earth and it can only be seen from spacecraft, so the correct way to call it would be “The far side of the moon”.
9. According to the radioisotope analysis of samples from the Moon, Tycho crater formed 108 million years ago, when dinosaurs still ruled the Earth.
10. The Moon is moving approximately 3.8 cm away from our planet every year. NASA scientists predict that this phenomenon will continue for about 50 billion years. Thus, the time during which the Moon orbits the Earth will increase from 27.3 to 47 days.
11. There is a monument to honor the fallen astronauts on the Moon. This is a 3.5-inch (8.9 cm) aluminum figure created by Paul Van Hoeydonck, depicting an astronaut in a spacesuit.
12. Bailly is the largest crater on the Moon, its diameter is almost 295 kilometers. It is located on the side of the satellite that is not visible from Earth.
