Table of Contents
- 1 How does the surface of the Moon compare to the surface of the Earth?
- 2 Why does the Moon appear in different places in the sky?
- 3 What different shapes does the Moon appear to be?
- 4 What is the mass of a moon?
- 5 What does the moonlight we see on Earth represent?
- 6 What is the size of the Moon relative to the Earth?
How does the surface of the Moon compare to the surface of the Earth?
The surface area of the Moon is 37.9 million square kilometers. That sounds like a lot, but it’s actually smaller than the continent of Asia, which is only 44.4 million square km. The surface ares of the whole Earth is 510 million square km, so the area of the Moon compared to Earth is only 7.4\%.
Why does the Moon appear in different places in the sky?
The biggest clue to why the Moon always looks different when you look up at the sky is that it is constantly moving in relation to Earth and the Sun. It pops up in different places and at different times because it orbits the Earth.
Is the Moon a solid mass?
At the center is the Moon’s dense, metallic core. The core is largely composed of iron and some nickel. The inner core is a solid mass about 480 km in diameter. Interestingly, the crust of the Moon seems to be thinner on the side of the Moon facing the Earth, and thicker on the side facing away.
Does the Moon have a Planes surface?
Forty-five years after astronauts landed on the moon, scientists say they have finally discovered its true shape: slightly flattened, with a bulge on one side. “If you can imagine a water balloon flattening out as you spin it.” …
What different shapes does the Moon appear to be?
The different shapes of the Moon that can be seen by an observer from Earth are called phases. The Moon goes through 8 phases as it orbits the Sun. They are: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter and Waning Crescent.
What is the mass of a moon?
Bulk parameters
| Moon | Earth | |
|---|---|---|
| Mass (1024 kg) | 0.07346 | 5.9724 |
| Volume (1010 km3) | 2.1968 | 108.321 |
| Equatorial radius (km) | 1738.1 | 6378.1 |
| Polar radius (km) | 1736.0 | 6356.8 |
Why is Moon Not a Planet?
Like the Earth, our moon has a crust, a mantle and a core. These interior layers we think are present on most planets, even if the crust is made of rock or ice. Mars probably has a crust, mantle, and core, and so do Venus and Mercury. So when the moon formed, it formed like a planet.
What happens when the Moon appears to the Earth?
These happen when the moon is lit differently by the Sun. The Moon appears to Earth as a small crescent, as it rotates around the Earth this expands to a full moon and back to a small crescent. This happens once every 29 days and is called a lunar month. The Moon causes the rise and fall of the ocean’s tides on Earth.
What does the moonlight we see on Earth represent?
The moonlight we see on Earth is sunlight reflected off the Moon’s grayish-white surface. The amount of Moon we see changes over the month — lunar phases — because the Moon orbits Earth and Earth orbits the Sun. Everything is moving. During a lunar eclipse, Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, blocking the sunlight falling on the Moon.
What is the size of the Moon relative to the Earth?
Relative size. The Moon is exceptionally large relative to Earth: Its diameter is more than a quarter and its mass is 1/81 of Earth’s. It is the largest moon in the Solar System relative to the size of its planet, though Charon is larger relative to the dwarf planet Pluto, at 1/9 Pluto’s mass.
How did we get the first look at the Moon?
The Moon’s Surface. From lunar orbit, astronauts pointed cameras out the window of their spacecraft to capture photos of the moon’s surface. The closest look we’ve had at the moon came from the launch of NASA’s Apollo program in the 1960s. Between 1967 and 1972, a series of missions landed the first men on the moon.