THE MOON
The moon is Earth's only
natural satellite. The moon
is a cold, dry orb whose
surface is studded with
craters and strewn with
rocks and dust (called
regolith). The moon has no
atmosphere. Recent lunar
missions indicate that there
might be some frozen ice at
the poles.
The same side of the moon always faces the Earth
If you were standing on the moon, the sky would always appear
dark, even during the daytime. Also, from any spot on the moon
(except on the far side of the moon where you cannot see the
Earth), the Earth would always be in the same place in the sky;
the phase of the Earth changes and the Earth rotates, displaying
various continents.
The moon is about 238,900 miles (384,000 km) from Earth on
average. At its closest approach (the lunar perigee) the moon
is 221,460 miles (356,410 km) from the Earth. At its farthest
approach (its apogee) the moon is 252,700 miles (406,700 km)
from the Earth
The moon revolves around the Earth in about one month
(27 days 8 hours). It rotates around its own axis in the
same amount of time. The same side of the moon always
faces the Earth; it is in a synchronous rotation with the
Earth.
The moon's diameter is 2,140 miles
(3,476 km), 27% of the diameter of the
Earth (a bit over a quarter of the Earth's
diameter).
The moon's mass is (7.35 x 10 22 kg), about
1/81 of the Earth's mass
The moon's gravitational force is only 17% of the Earth's
gravity. For example, a 100 pound (45 kg) person would weigh
only 17 pounds (7.6 kg) on the Moon.
The moon's density is 3340 kg/m 3.
This is about 3/5 the density of
the Earth.
The temperature on the Moon ranges from
daytime highs of about 130°C = 265°F to
nighttime lows of about -110°C = -170°F
The Phases of the Moon
As the moon circles the Earth, the shape of the moon appears to
change; this is because different amounts of the illuminated part of the
moon are facing us. The shape varies from a full moon (when the Earth
is between the sun and the moon) to a new moon (when the moon is
between the sun and the Earth).
BLUE MOON
When two full moons occur in a single month, the second
full moon is called a "Blue Moon." Another definition of the
blue moon is the third full moon that occurs in a season of
the year which has four full moons (usually each season has
only three full moons.)
FULL MOON
A full moon appears as an entire circle in the sky. The full moon is given
different names, depending on when it appears. For example, the
"Harvest moon" is the full moon that appears nearest to the Autumnal
Equinox, occurring in late September or early October. Some other full
moon names (by month) include:
January Moon After Yule, Wolf Moon, or Old Moon
February Snow Moon or Hunger Moon
March Sap Moon, Crow Moon, or Lenten Moon
April Grass Moon or Egg Moon
May Milk Moon or Planting Moon
June Rose Moon, Flower Moon, or Strawberry Moon
July Thunder Moon or Hay Moon
August Grain Moon or Green Corn Moon
September Fruit Moon or Harvest Moon
October Harvest Moon or Hunter's Moon
November Hunter's Moon, Frosty Moon, or Beaver Moon
December Moon Before Yule or Long Night Moon.
Moonrise from Earth:
The moon rises and sets every day, appearing on the horizon just
like the sun. The time depends on the phase of the moon. It rises
about 30 to 70 minutes later each day than the previous day, so the
moon is out during daytime as often is it's out at night. At the time
of the new moon, the moon rises at about the same time the sun
rises, and it sets at about the same time the sun sets.
As the days go by (as it waxes to become a crescent
moon, a half moon, and a gibbous moon, on the way to a
full moon), the moon rises during daytime (after the sun
rises), rising later each day, and it sets at nighttime,
setting later and later each night.
At the full moon, the times of moonrise and moonset have
advanced so that the moon rises about the same time the sun
sets, and the moon sets at about the same time the sun rises.
As the moon wanes (becoming a half moon and a crescent moon, on
the way to a new moon), the moon rises during the night, after
sunset, rising later each night. It then sets in the daytime, after
the sun rises. Eventually, the moon rises so late at night that it's
actually rising around sunrise, and it's setting around sunset.
That's when it's a new moon once again.
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