![]() The gravitational forces between the Earth and the Moon cause some interesting effects. In the summer of 1994, the Moon was very extensively mapped by the little spacecraft Clementine and again in 1999 by Lunar Prospector. The Moon is also the only body from which samples have been returned to Earth. The first landing was on J(do you remember where you were?) the last was in December 1972. It is the only extraterrestrial body to have been visited by humans. The Moon was first visited by the Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 in 1959. The time between successive new moons is 29.5 days (709 hours), slightly different from the Moon’s orbital period (measured against the stars) since the Earth moves a significant distance in its orbit around the Sun in that time.ĭue to its size and composition, the Moon is sometimes classified as a terrestrial “planet” along with Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. As the Moon orbits around the Earth once per month, the angle between the Earth, the Moon and the Sun changes we see this as the cycle of the Moon’s phases. It is the second brightest object in the sky after the Sun. The Moon, of course, has been known since prehistoric times. The Moon ProfileĬalled Luna by the Romans, Selene and Artemis by the Greeks, and many other names in other mythologies. It’s the fifth-largest moon in our solar system and is the second brightest object in the sky (after the Sun). ![]() It was created 4.6 billion years ago, and it is widely accepted that it was created when Earth collided with a planet-sized object called Theia. The Moon, otherwise known as Luna, is the only natural satellite of Earth.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |