MOON

Earth's Moon is the only place beyond Earth where humans have set
foot. The brightest and largest object in our night sky, the Moon
makes Earth a more livable planet by moderating our home planet's
wobble on its axis, leading to a relatively stable climate. It also
causes tides, creating a rhythm that has guided humans for
thousands of years. The Moon was likely formed after a Mars-sized
body collided with Earth. It is the fifth largest of the 200+ moons
orbiting planets in our solar system. Its surface is covered by
features which include Maria, the large, dark, and flat areas formed
from large lava. It has also craters which are round pits formed
A natural satellite
- One of more than 96 moons in our solar system
- The only moon of the planet Earth
- 240,000 miles from the Earth/384,00km
- It revolves about 27 1/3 days
- It rotates for about 27 1/3 DAYS
- A day on the moon is equivalent to two Earth
weeks
-After two weeks, the moon starts to be in darkness.
This lasts for another two weeks.
-The lunar day is 27 1/3 earth days w/ about 14 days of
daylight and 14 days of darkness.
- The Moon rotates in 27.3 days.
-The Moon orbits Earth in 27.3 days.
Because the Moon rotates and revolves at the same
rate, we only see one side
Average distance from Earth 382,176 km

circumference 10, 856 km

diameter 3,456 km

Radius 1,728 km

Volume 1/50 that of Earth

Mass 1/81 that of the Earth

Temperature at noon 130 degree C

Temp at night -175 degree C

age 4.6 billion years

Gravitational force 1/6 that of Earth

FACTS ABOUT
MOON
1.Distance - the Moon is approximately 384,400 km (239,000 miles) from the
Earth.
2. Size - the diameter of the Moon is 3479 kilometers (2162 miles). This is about
1/4 the diameter of the Earth (12,756 kilometers or 7,926 miles).
3.Mass - the mass of the Moon is 7.35*1022 kilograms, which is about 1/80 of the
mass of the Earth. (1022 is 10 times itself 21 times or 1 followed by 22
zeros.)
4.Density - the density of the Moon is 3340 kg/m3.
5.Temperature - the average temperature on the surface of the Moon during the
day is 107°C. That is hot enough to boil water on the Earth. During the night,
the average temperature drops to −153°C.
6.Motion - the Moon revolves around the Earth in an elliptical orbit every 27.3 days.
The same side of the Moon always faces the Earth. Due to the angle of the Sun
on the Moon, we see different portions of Moon illuminated. These are called
the phases of the Moon.
7.Gravity - because of its smaller size and mass, the gravity of the Moon is about 1/6
the gravity on the Earth.
8.Composition - the Moon is made up of minerals similar to those of Earth, mostly
silicates. The average composition of the lunar surface by weight is roughly 43%
oxygen, 20% silicon, 19% magnesium, 10% iron, 3% calcium, 3% aluminum, 0.42%
chromium, 0.18% titanium and 0.12% manganese. Orbiting spacecraft have found
traces of water on the lunar surface that may have originated from deep
underground. NASA recently announced that - for the first time – we’ve confirmed
the water molecule, H2O, in sunlit areas of the Moon. This indicates that water is
widely distributed across the lunar surface.
PHASES OF THE MOON
 NEW MOON (Day 1 and Day 29)

Invisible phase of the moon. With the illuminated side of the

Moon facing the sun, and the nightside facing Earth. This
silver of a Moon occurs when the illuminated half of the Moon
faces mostly away from Earth, with only a tiny portion visible
to us from our planet. 
WAXING CRESCENT (DAY 3)

This silver sliver of a Moon occurs when the illuminated half of the
Moon faces mostly away from Earth, with only a tiny portion visible to
us from our planet. It grows daily as the Moon’s orbit carries the
Moon’s dayside farther into view.
First Quarter Moon (Day 7)

The Moon is now a quarter of the way through its monthly journey and
you see half of its illuminated side. People may casually call this a half
moon, but remember, that’s not really what you’re witnessing in the sky.
You’re seeing just a slice of the entire Moon ― half of the illuminated
half. A first quarter moon rises around noon and sets around midnight.
It’s high in the sky in the evening and makes for excellent viewing.
Waxing Gibbous Moon (Day 11)

The second intermediate phase, the Waxing Gibbous Moon, lasts until

the next primary phase. Waxing means that it is getting bigger. Gibbous
refers to the shape, which is larger than the semicircle shape of the Moon
at First Quarter, but smaller than a full circle
FULL MOON PHASE (Day 14)

The Full Moon appears in the night sky when the Sun and the Moon are
aligned on opposite sides of Earth.
This is as close as we come to seeing the Sun’s illumination of the entire
day side of the Moon (so, technically, this would be the real halfmoon).
The Moon is opposite the Sun, as viewed from Earth, revealing the
Moon’s dayside.
Waning Gibbous Moon (Day 17)

The next intermediate Moon phase is the 

Waning Gibbous Moon. The portion of the visible half of the
Moon illuminated decreases during this period.
As the Moon begins its journey back toward the Sun, the
opposite side of the Moon now reflects the Moon’s light. It is
simply carrying it out of view from our perspective. The Moon
rises later and later each night
Last Quarter Moon (Day 21

Occurs the moment the opposite half of the Moon is illuminated compared to the First
Quarter Moon.
The Moon looks like it’s half illuminated from the perspective of Earth, but really you’re
seeing half of the half of the Moon that’s illuminated by the Sun ― or a quarter. A last
quarter moon, also known as a third quarter moon, rises around midnight and sets around

noon.
Waning Crescent Moon (Day 24)

The Sun illuminates less than half of the visible part of

the Moon during the Waning Crescent Moon phase and
you can sometimes see earthshine on the rest of the
Moon towards the end.
The Moon is nearly back to the point in its orbit where
its dayside directly faces the Sun, and all that we see
from our perspective is a thin curve.
ECLIPSE & TIDES
 An eclipse takes place when one heavenly body such
as a moon or planet moves into the shadow of
another heavenly body. There are two types of
eclipses on Earth: an eclipse of the moon and an
eclipse of the sun. The term eclipse is most often
used to describe either a solar eclipse, when the
Moon's shadow crosses the Earth's surface, or a
lunar eclipse, when the Moon moves into the Earth's
shadow.
There are three types of solar eclipses:

1. Total Solar Eclipse A total solar eclipse is only visible from a

small area on Earth. The people who see the total eclipse are in the

center of the moon’s shadow when it hits Earth. For a total eclipse
to take place, the sun, moon and Earth must be in a direct line.
During a total solar eclipse, the moon totally blocks the sun. This
creates the umbra shadow (which we call “totality”), and the
penumbra in which viewers experience a partial solar eclipse.
 2. Partial Solar Eclipse. This happens when the sun, moon and
Earth are not
exactly lined up. The sun appears to have a dark shadow on only a
small part of its surface. It occurs any time the moon passes between
the sun and earth, creating a penumbra shadow on part of the earth.
3. Annular Solar Eclipse. An annular eclipse happens when the
moon is farthest from Earth. Because the moon is farther away from
Earth, it seems smaller. It does not block the entire view of the sun.
The moon in front of the sun looks like a dark disk on top of a larger
sun-colored disk. This creates what looks like a ring around the
moon. 
LUNAR ECLIPSE
- in some ways be thought of as the
“opposite” of a solar eclipse. It occurs when the
shadow of the earth falls on the moon. Instead of
the moon’s penumbra or umbra falling on the
earth, the earth’s umbra and penumbra are cast
on the moon.
THREE TYPES OF LUNAR
ECLIPSES
1. Total lunar eclipse is visible when the earth
completely blocks the sun and our umbra is cast
on the moon. Interestingly, due to the bending of
light around the earth, the earth’s umbra doesn’t
create a black shadow (like the moon’s umbra does
during a total solar eclipse). Instead, light filters
and bends around the earth to create a red shadow
on the moon
2.  Partial lunar eclipse occurs when the earth’s umbra is cast on
only part of the moon. Also like a total lunar eclipse, the umbra
creates a red shadow on the moon during a partial lunar eclipse.
3. Penumbral lunar eclipse. Due to the alignment of the earth and
sun, sometimes the moon doesn’t pass through the earth’s umbra
– only its penumbra. As the penumbra is a less dense shadow, it
doesn’t have the same effect: instead of turning red, the moon just
appears dimmer during a penumbral lunar eclipse.
TIDES is the alternate rising and falling of the surface of the ocean
and of water bodies (such as gulfs and bays) connected with the ocean
that occurs usually twice a day and is the result of differing
gravitational forces exerted at different parts of the earth by another
body (such as the moon or sun). Earth’s rotation causes the formation
of two high tides and two low tides each day.
 
Types of Tides
1. Spring tides – Twice each month, the high and the low tides are
respectively higher and lower than usual. This occurs during the full moon and
new moon phases, were the sun, Earth, moon fall in line.
2. Neap tides – Twice a month, the high tides are lower than usual and
the low tides are higher than usual. This happens during the first and last
quarter phases of the moon. The sun, Earth and moon are at a right angle with
each other.
A diurnal tide has one episode of high water and one episode of low water each
day. These tides usually occur in locations when the moon is farthest from the
equator
3. Semi-diurnal tide- has two episodes of equal high water and two episodes of
low equal water each day. The second high tide rises to the same level it did in
the first high tide and the second low tide falls to the same level it did in the
first low tide. Semi-diurnal tides tend to occur when the moon is directly over
the equator. 
4. Mixed tides - like the semi-diurnal tide, can have two episodes of high
water and two episodes of low water per day. However, unlike a semi-diurnal
tide, mixed tides are unequal, meaning they do not rise and fall to the same
levels. Mixed tides can either include both sets of unequal high and low waters,
or only one set of unequal high or low waters. This will happen when the moon
is extremely far north or extremely far south of the equator. 
 5. Diurnal tides - occur when there is so much interference by
continents, only one high tide and one low tide occur per day
6. Meteorological tides - represent all atmospherically influenced tides,
such as those affected by wind, barometric pressures, rainfall, ice melting
and land drying. One example of a meteorological tide is a storm surge,
when wind and inverted barometric pressure combine to cause a dramatic
increase in sea levels.