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The Moon. Many of the discoveries on the moon were made possible as a result of the Russian-American Space Race. The later Apollo missions were dedicated to understanding more about the moon itself and its origin. Go here for a more detailed description of lunar missions.
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Many of the discoveries on the moon were made possible as a result of the Russian-American Space Race
The later Apollo missions were dedicated to understanding more about the moon itself and its origin.
There are several theories concerning the origin of the moon. The most accepted Impact Theory says that the moon was formed as a result of a Mars-sized meteor crashing into the Earth.
Because the moon has no atmosphere, meteoroids ranging in size from a speck to an object weighing thousands of kilograms have been crashing into the moon for many years.
Evidence of these collisions are large craters on the moon’s surface.
You can jump a lot higher on the moon. The gravity is 1/6th what it is here on Earth!
If the gravity is 1/6th what it is here on Earth, how high would Magic Johnson jump?
Brainteaser: Newton’s second law of motion states that Force (weight) = mass X gravitational acceleration. Does your weight change when going to the moon? Does your mass change when going to the moon?
Question: How much would you weigh on the moon? How much would your mass be on the moon?
Answer: Consider that the gravity on the moon is 1/6th what it is here on Earth. Do the math!
Volcanic Basalt (Igneous extrusive rock formed from volcanic eruptions. Similar to rock found in Hawaii)
Igneous Intrusive Anorthosite (AKA: Genesis Rock, the original crust of the Moon!)
Volcanic Breccia (formed when asteroid impact melts rock and then the rock re-crystallizes)
Volcanic Soil (regolith): formed when meteoroids pulverize lunar rocks
Moon rocks have been dated to be around the same age as some of the oldest Earth rocks, leading to the idea that the moon is actually a part of the Earth that was broken off by a meteor impact.
The Moon takes 27.3 days to go around the Earth. It’s orbit is elliptical and has an average distance of 384,000 km. Perigee = closest to earth Apogee = farthest from earth Earth
The moon will rise and set 50 minutes later each day/night. If the moon rises at 9:00 tonight, what time will it rise tomorrow night?
Phases are daily changes in appearance as viewed from earth. The moon is waxing when it is between new and full phase. It is waning when it is between full and new phase.
Gibbous is when almost all of the bright side is facing us. Crescent is when only a little sliver of the bright side is facing us.
A lunar eclipseis when the Earth comes in between the sun and moon.
A solar eclipse is when the moon comes in between the Earth and Sun.
In an eclipse, umbra is the area of total shadow. Penumbra is the area of partial shadow.
Ocean Tidesare the periodic rise and fall of the ocean surface due to the gravitational pulls of the moon and sun. Go here to learn more about tides.
Both the moon and sun have an effect on our tides. Which one do you think has the greater effect?
If you said the moon, you would be correct! The moon is much less massive than the sun, but it is much closer. The sun’s tide making effect is only about ½ that of the moon.
There are 2 types of tides, spring tides and neap tides. Go here for animation.
Spring Tides occur when the sun, earth, and moon are lined up in a straight line. They are the strongest and coincide with the full or new moon.
Neap Tides occur when the sun, earth, and moon are at right angles to each other. They are the weakest and coincide with the first quarter or third quarter.
Tidal influence is greatest at perigee and weakest at apogee. Perigee = closest to earth Apogee = farthest from earth Earth
Tides can vary throughout the day and can depend on the local area. The Bay of Fundy in Canada is a great example.