Our satellite, the Moon, holds numerous curiosities that many people do not know about. More or less we all have a generalized vision of the history of the Moon from its origin and formation to the present, going through the space travel carried out by the human being. However, many people are unaware of some of the curiosities of the moon more interesting and striking.
Therefore, in this article we are going to tell you what are the best curiosities of the Moon that perhaps you did not know.
Curiosities of the Moon
landscapes and surface
Without the protection of its atmosphere, the moon would be subject to various impacts. Over time, a large number of meteorites crashed into its surface. Thus, thousands of craters, plains, seas and mountains make up its terrain.
Selenite soils are covered with fine sediments from meteorite impacts. The dust that accumulates in layers from 2 to 20 meters thick is called lunar regolith and also contains particles from the solar wind.
There are a total of 1.600 recorded impact craters on the Moon. The main ones are Tycho, Copernicus, Aristarchus, Grimaldi… Their names come from Russian scientists, artists, explorers, scholars, and even Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts. In 2017, the International Astronomical Union approved the designation of two new craters: Guest crater and Vogo crater. Thus the entire list evolves and refines over time as new craters are discovered and named.
true color of the moon
From Earth we can see that the Moon is white, yellow or reddish due to interference from the atmosphere. However, the moon's surface is gray or brown, depending on its components. As a result, the images we get of Earth do not quite match the actual colors of celestial objects: although the Moon is the second brightest object in the sky after the Sun, its soil is actually as black as coal.
How is gravity?
The gravity of an object depends on its mass. The Earth has 81,3 times the mass of the Moon, so its gravity is much greater. On the Moon, gravity is 1,62 m/s, which is the speed at which a freely falling object falls on the Moon's surface. On earth, It has a velocity of 9,8 m/s. This means that the gravity on the surface of the Moon is 0,17 times less than that of the Earth, which means that we are 6 times lighter there.
lunar atmosphere
The moon's low gravity makes it difficult for an atmosphere to form because there isn't enough gravity to keep gas particles on its surface. Without this force to hold back the gases, no atmosphere could have formed. In any case, the lunar surface It does have an exosphere made up of a very thin layer of gases which, unlike the gases that make up the atmosphere, are so dispersed that they barely collide with each other.
Where is the highest point?
The highest point on the moon's surface is even higher than Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth's surface. Mount Selene is 10.786 meters high and is located on the hidden side of the Moon, near the equator of the satellite. The place was discovered in 2010 by a LRO team (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the American space probe dedicated to exploring the Moon) led by Professor Mark Robinson.
temperature, size and distance
On the Moon, the highest temperature at the equator and when the sun shines is 127℃. However, inside the craters, at the lower poles, the temperature of the Moon can drop as low as -173°C.
The average distance between the Moon and the Earth is 384.400 km. Depending on the position of the planets and moons, the distance can be as short as 363.000 km and as long as 405.500 km.
The diameter of the Moon is 3.476 kilometers, which is exactly the distance between Madrid and Moscow. It is a quarter of the diameter of the Earth, which has a total diameter of 12.742 km. Although small compared to Earth, the Moon is the fifth largest satellite in the solar system and the largest relative to its planet.
Composition:
The Moon has a small iron inner core, a mantle of dense iron-magnesium rocks, and a 70 km-thick crust whose surface is made up of silicates, alumina (14% in dark oceans, 24% on light Earth ) and also calcium and iron oxides. The most abundant element is oxygen (43%), followed by silicon (20%), magnesium (19%), iron, aluminum, traces of chromium, titanium and magnesium.
From our planet we can only observe the visible side of the Moon, the satellite hemisphere that is always looking at the Earth and which is characterized by a dark lunar ocean of volcanic origin, ancient mountains and craters (craters caused by meteorite impacts). The opposite hemisphere is the far side of the Moon.
Other curiosities of the Moon
big shock
Most scientists agree that a rogue planet half the size of Earth collided with Earth 4.500 billion years ago. The massive impact produced hundreds of extremely hot, steam-filled fragments. Gas, rocks, and dust became trapped around Earth's orbit, cooled, and pulled by gravity to form a sphere we know today as the Moon.
moon and fertility
There is no scientific study that ensures that women are more fertile on days of the full moon, but fertility has been linked to the phases of the moon for hundreds of years. The Romans believed this, and in fact their fertility goddess was also the goddess of the moon.
It is not clear if more babies were born on the night of the full moon. According to a study by astronomer Daniel Caton published in 2001 by the US National Center for Health Statistics, after analyzing 70 million births, there was no correlation between births and lunar phases.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the curiosities of the Moon and some of its characteristics.