Interesting Facts About Moon

Moon is the one and only natural satellite of Earth. However, the planet did not have a satellite the moment it came into being, rather moon was formed sometime after the evolution of Earth. As per the "Giant Impact" theory, a rogue planet, larger than Mars, banged in Earth with great force. This resulted in vaporization of most of the rogue body and a sizable chunk of the planet as well. The clouds that formed from this, rose to a height of more than 13,700 miles (22,000 kilometers). It is here that they condensed into countless solid particles, which then began orbiting the Earth. Soon, they started joining together to form, first, large moonlets and then, the moon itself. If you want to know more about moon, explore the fun and interesting facts provided below.

Fun and Interesting Facts About Moon

The average distance between Earth and its moon is about 238,900 miles (384,000 kilometers).
The diameter of the moon is 2,160 miles (3,476 kilometers).
The mass of moon is 7.15 x 1022 kg. It is about one-eightieth that of the Earth.
The surface gravity of the moon is only one-sixth that of Earth.
The time taken by moon to complete one rotation and one revolution is the same - about 27.3 days. This is why, from Earth, we always see the same side of the moon.
The moon orbits Earth at an average speed of 2,300 miles an hour (3,700 kilometers an hour).
The moon's gravitational pull on Earth is the reason behind the phenomenon of rise and fall of ocean tides.
There is no water and no air on moon.
From earth, only 59 percent of moon's surface is visible.
The dark spots that can be seen on moon are nothing, but craters filled with basalt, a very dense material.
The moon is the only extraterrestrial body to have been visited by humans. It is also the only body from which samples have been taken.
The first artificial object to impact the lunar surface was Luna 2.
Luna 3 (built by the Soviet Union) was the first space craft to send back pictures from the moon, in October 1959.
There is no global magnetic field on moon.
In 1966, Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to perform a successful lunar soft landing.
The first unmanned vehicle to orbit the Moon was sent in 1966, under the name Luna 10.
Unlike the moons (natural satellites) of other planets, the moon of the Earth has no proper English name, other than "the Moon".
The surface of the Moon is covered with craters, basins, and cratered highlands, called terrae.
The soil that covers the Moon is composed of rock fragments and fine dust grains. It is known by the name of 'regolith'.
The density of moon is 3.34 g/cm3.
The temperature on moon ranges from -171 deg C to 111 deg C.
The total atmospheric mass of moon is less than 10⁴ kg.
Lunar eclipses occur near a full moon, when the Earth is between Sun and Moon.
During its brightest phase i.e. at "full moon", moon has an apparent magnitude of about −12.6.
Moon is neither round, nor spherical. Rather, it has the shape of an egg.

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