ASTRONOMY

THE MOON
COMPOSITION AND PARTS

The Moon is an astronomical body that orbits the Earth as its only permanent natural
satellite. It is the fifth-largest satellite in the Solar System, and the largest among planetary
satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits (its primary). The Moon is, after Jupiter's
satellite Io, the second-densest satellite in the Solar System among those whose densities are
known. The Moon's average orbital distance is 384,402 km (238,856 mi),[14][15] or 1.28 light-
seconds. This is about thirty times the diameter of Earth. The Moon's apparent size in the sky is
almost the same as that of the Sun, since the star is about 400 times the lunar distance and
diameter. Therefore, the Moon covers the Sun nearly precisely during a total solar eclipse. This
matching of apparent visual size will not continue in the far future because the Moon's distance
from Earth is gradually increasing.
The moon is the easiest celestial object to find in the night sky — when it's there. Earth's
only natural satellite hovers above us bright and round until it seemingly disappears for a few
nights. The rhythm of the moon's phases has guided humanity for millennia — for instance,
calendar months are roughly equal to the time it takes to go from one full moon to the next.
Moon phases and the moon's orbit are mysteries to many. For example, the moon always shows
us the same face. That happens because it takes 27.3 days both to rotate on its axis and to orbit
Earth. We see either the full moon, half moon or no moon (new moon) because the moon reflects
sunlight. How much of it we see depends on the moon's position in relation to Earth and the sun.
There are various theories about how the moon was created, but recent evidence indicates
it formed when a huge collision tore a chunk of Earth away. The moon is rocky. It's pockmarked
with craters formed by asteroid impacts millions of years ago. Because there is no weather, the
craters have not eroded. The average composition of the lunar surface by weight is roughly 43
percent oxygen, 20 percent silicon, 19 percent magnesium, 10 percent iron, 3 percent calcium, 3
percent aluminum, 0.42 percent chromium, 0.18 percent titanium and 0.12 percent manganese.
The moon's mass is 7.35 x 1022 kg, about 1.2 percent of Earth's mass. Put another way,
Earth weighs 81 times more than the moon. The moon's density is 3.34 grams per cubic
centimeter (3.34 g/cm3). That is about 60 percent of Earth's density. The moon is the second
densest moon in the solar system; Jupiter's moon Io is denser, with 3.53 g/cm3.
 The lunar maria are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by ancient
volcanic eruptions. They were dubbed maria, Latin for "seas", by early astronomers who mistook
them for actual seas. They are less reflective than the "highlands" as a result of their iron-rich
composition, and hence appear dark to the naked eye. The maria cover about 16% of the lunar
surface, mostly on the side visible from Earth. The few maria on the far side are much smaller,
residing mostly in very large craters. The traditional nomenclature for the Moon also includes
one oceanus (ocean), as well as features with the names lacus (lake), palus (marsh), and sinus
(bay). The last three are smaller than maria, but have the same nature and characteristics.
 MARE TRANQUILLITATIS - Is a lunar mare that sits within the tranquillitatis
basin on the moon.
 MARE SERENITATIS - Is a lunar mare located to the east of Mare Imbrium on
the moon.
 OCEANUS PROCELLARUM - Is a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the
near side of the moon.
 MATE IMBRIUM - Is a vast lava plain within the Imbrium basin on the moon
and is one of the larger craters in the solar system.
 MARE CRISIUM - Is a lunar mare located in the moon’s crisium basin, just
northeast of Mare Tranbquillitatis.
 MARE NUBIUM - Is a lunar mare in the Nubium basin on the moon’s near side.
 MARE ORIENTALE - Is a lunar mare that is located on the western border of the
near side and far side of the moon, and is difficult to see from an Earthbound
perspective.
 MARE NECTARIS - Is a small lunar mare or sea located south of Mare
Tranquillitatis southwest of Mare Fecunditatis, on the near side of the moon.
 MARE FRIGORIS - Is a lunar mare in the far north of the moon.
 MARE INGENII - Is one of the few lunar mare features on the far side of the
moon.
 MARE MOSCOVIENSE - Is a lunar mare that sits in the Moscovinse basin.
 MARE HUMBOLDTIANIUM - Is a lunar mare located just to the east of Mare
Frigoris, in the center of Humboldtianium basin.
 MARE AUSTRALE - Is a lunar mare located in the southeastern hemisphere of
the moon.
 MARE ANGUIS - Is a lunar mare located on the near side of the moon, about 150
km in diameter.
 SINUS IRIDUM - Is a plain of basaltic lava that forms a northwestern extension
to the Mare Imbrium on Earth’s moon.
 SINUS MEDII - It takes its name from its location at the intersection of the
moon’s equator and prime meridian.
 Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters,
almost all of which were formed by impacts. Because of the Moon's lack of water, atmosphere,
and tectonic plates, there is little erosion, and craters are found that exceed two billion years in
age. The age of large craters is determined by the number of smaller craters contained within it,
older craters generally accumulating more small, contained craters.
The LPC Crater Types were as follows:
 ALC — small, cup-shaped craters with a diameter of about 10 km or less, and no
central floor. The archetype for this category is Albategnius C.
 BIO — similar to an
 ALC, but with small, flat floors. Typical diameter is about 15 km. The lunar crater
archetype is Biot.
 SOS — the interior floor is wide and flat, with no central peak. The inner walls
are not terraced. The diameter is normally in the range of 15–25 km. The
archetype is Sosigenes.
 TRI — these complex craters are large enough so that their inner walls have
slumped to the floor. They can range in size from 15–50 km in diameter. The
archetype crater is Triesnecker.
 TYC — these are larger than 50 km, with terraced inner walls and relatively flat
floors. They frequently have large central peak formations. Tycho is the archetype
for this class.
Lunar rilles are lava channels on the surface of the moon. They usually originate at
impact craters. A majority of the lunar rilles are located near impact craters. Rilles measure about
1–5 km (0.6–3 miles) wide and as much as several hundred kilometres long. They are divided
into two main types, straight rilles and sinuous rilles, which seem to have different origins. Those
of the first variety are flat-floored and relatively straight; they are occasionally associated with
crater chains and sometimes arranged in an echelon pattern. Some of these structures are thought
to be grabens, elongated blocks of crust that have collapsed between parallel faults. Other
straight rilles, some of which have branches—for example, Rima Hyginus and the rilles on the
floor of the great crater Alphonsus—appear to be tension cracks in regions where subsurface
gases have driven eruptions of dark material resulting in rimless vent craters.
Lunar libration reveals 59% of the moon’s surface. You can see only 50% of the lunar
disk at any one time. Even so, lunar libration – the slight north-south rocking and east-west
wobbling of the moon – enables acute observers to peek at a tiny portion of the moon’s back
side. Over time, it’s possible to see as much as 59% of the lunar disk. There are various kinds of
lunar libration, the two most notable being libration in longitude and libration in latitude.
 Moon rock or lunar rock is rock that is found on the Earth's Moon including lunar
material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, or rock that has been
ejected naturally from the Moon's surface (and which has then landed on the Earth as
meteorites). Apollo lunar landings yielded an abundance of new scientific data on the Moon. The
various experiments placed on the surface provided information on seismic, gravitational, and
other lunar characteristics. But perhaps the most dramatic result of the missions was returning a
total of more than 800 pounds of lunar rock and soil for analysis on Earth.
Moon is a differentiated body, being composed of a geochemically distinct crust, mantle,
and planetary core. This structure is believed to have resulted from the fractional crystallization
of a magma ocean shortly after its formation about 4.5 billion years ago. The energy required to
melt the outer portion of the Moon is commonly attributed to a giant impact event that is
postulated to have formed the Earth-Moon system, and the subsequent reaccretion of material in
Earth orbit. Crystallization of this magma ocean would have given rise to a mafic mantle and a
plagioclase-rich crust. Crust of the Moon is largely anorthositic in composition, consistent with
the magma ocean hypothesis. In terms of elements, the lunar crust is composed primarily of
oxygen, silicon, magnesium, iron, calcium, and aluminium, but important minor and trace
elements such as titanium, uranium, thorium, potassium, and hydrogen are present as well. Based
on geophysical techniques, the crust is estimated to be on average about 50 km thick.
Several lines of evidence imply that the lunar core is small, with a radius of about 350
km or less. The size of the lunar core is only about 20% the size of the Moon itself, in contrast to
about 50% as is the case for most other terrestrial bodies. The composition of the lunar core is
not well constrained, but most believe that it is composed of metallic iron alloyed with a small
amount of sulfur and nickel. Analyses of the Moon's time-variable rotations indicate that the core
is at least partly molten. Solid inner core is made of pure iron has the radius of 240 ± 10 km. The
core is surrounded by the partially (10 to 30%) melted layer of the lower mantle with a radius of
480 ± 20 km (thickness ~150 km). These results imply that 40% of the core by volume has
solidified. The density of the liquid outer core is about 5 g/cm3 and it could contain as much 6%
sulfur by weight. The temperature in the core is probably about 1600–1700 K.
Lunar water is water that is present on the Moon. Liquid water cannot persist at the
Moon's surface, and water vapor is decomposed by sunlight, with hydrogen quickly lost to outer
space. However, scientists have conjectured since the 1960s that water ice could survive in cold,
permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's poles. Water molecules are also detected in the thin
layer of gases above the lunar surface.