ABOUT THE MOON

By: Srikar Tej

8A
 WHAT IS THE MOON?
The moon is a natural satellite, which itself is, in the most common usage, an astronomical body
that orbits a planet or a dwarf planet.
The Moon is the only natural satellite of Earth. With a diameter roughly one-fourth that of Earth, it is
the largest relative to its parent planet and the fifth largest satellite in the solar system (comparable to
the width of Australia). The Moon is larger than all known dwarf planets in the Solar System. It lacks
an atmosphere, a hydrosphere, and a magnetic field.

Fun Fact:
If you set a single green pea next
to a 10 coin, you'd have a pretty
good idea of the size of the Moon
compared to Earth.
 EXPLORATION OF THE MOON
The Moon has a solid, rocky surface cratered and pitted from impacts by
asteroids, meteorites, and comets.
While the Moon has the lowest level of planetary protection, its degradation
as a pristine body and scientific location has been discussed. If astronomy is
performed from the Moon, it must be free of physical and radio pollution.
While the Moon does not have an atmosphere, traffic and impacts on the
Moon create clouds of dust that can spread far and potentially contaminate the
Moon's original state and special scientific content. According to scholar Alice
Gorman, while the Moon is inhospitable, it is not dead, and that sustainable
human activity would necessitate treating the Moon's ecology as a co-
participant. Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were the first of 12
human beings to walk on the Moon. Four of America's moonwalkers are still
alive: Aldrin (Apollo 11), David Scott (Apollo 15), Charles Duke (Apollo 16),
and Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17).
The Earth and Moon are tidally locked. Their rotations are so in sync we only
see one side of the Moon. Humans didn't see the lunar far side until a Soviet
spacecraft flew past in 1959.
HOW IS THE MOON?
We know that without our shield-like atmosphere and
active climate and geology, the Earth would look
exactly like the Moon. And, because we know how
the lunar craters formed, we can see that the streaks,
known as 'rays,' radiating from where the meteorites
collided are made up of fresher material thrown out
during impact. These rays are most visible in the
Copernicus crater. It is visible with the naked eye and
is located slightly west of the Moon's Earth-facing
center .The Moon has a solid iron-rich inner core
with a radius of about 240 kilometers (150 miles) and
a fluid outer core primarily made of liquid iron with a
radius of about 300 kilometers (190 mi). A partially
molten boundary layer with a radius of about 500
kilometers surrounds the core (310 mi). This
structure is thought to have formed as a result of the
fractional crystallization of a global magma ocean
shortly after the Moon formed 4.5 billion years ago..
Thank You