Facts About The Moon

Discover fascinating facts about the Moon. From its phases and influence on Earth’s tides to historical missions and future explorations, delve into the mysteries and marvels of the Moon. Learn about its surface, formation, and the role it plays in our night sky. Perfect for astronomy enthusiasts and curious minds alike.

Facts About The Moon

The Moon, Earth’s only natural satellite, plays a crucial role in our planet’s phenomena, such as influencing the tides through its gravitational pull. It’s the fifth largest moon in our solar system and is believed to have formed about 4.5 billion years ago, likely from the debris left over after a giant impact between Earth and a Mars-sized body.

The Moon’s surface is marked by craters, valleys, and ancient lava plains, visible to the naked eye from Earth. Despite being visited by humans during the Apollo missions, it continues to hold secrets and remains a focal point for future space exploration.

in post image with white background, light blue border, title that says "Moon Facts", text of a fact about moon, and an image of full moon

The USA continued sending astronauts to the Moon until 1972.
The tallest mountain on the moon is Mons Huygens. It’s estimated to be 4, 700 meters tall, slightly half the height of Mount Everest, which stands at 8848 meters.
The moon is typically extremely hot during the day and cold during the night, with average surface temperatures of 107 degrees Celsius in the day and -153 degrees Celsius during the night.
The moon’s deepest craters are about 4,500 meters.
The Moon was made when a rock smashed into Earth

in post image with white background, light blue border, title that says "Moon Facts", text of a fact about moon, and an image of full moon glowing

The moon has its own time zone
The Moon has quakes too
The moon encompasses a huge temperature range
That small orb of light in the night sky that we know as the moon is around 2,200 miles in diameter. That is roughly a quarter the size of the Earth!
Apparent size of the Moon is roughly the same as that of the Sun, making it possible to witness a total solar eclipse

in post image with white background, light blue border, title that says "Moon Facts", text of a fact about moon, and an image of moon phases

Plans for Lunar settlements involve both surface and underground construction.
The phrase ‘’once in a blue moon” actually means once in 2.5 years.
Internet speeds on the moon are significantly high (19mbps).
There is water on the Moon!
Earth’s Moon is the only place beyond Earth where humans have set foot

in post image with white background, light blue border, title that says "Moon Facts", text of a fact about moon, and an image of blue half moon

Eclipses are reversed when viewing from the moon
The 160 rocks brought from the moon by the Apollo 11 and 17 missions are missing today.
It takes light around 1.3 seconds to get to the moon from Earth
The Moon started out around ten times closer to the Earth than it is now and it’s still moving further away by 3.78cm a year.
A human’s weight on the moon is 16.5% of their weight on Earth.

in post image with white background, light blue border, title that says "Moon Facts", text of a fact about moon, and an image of watercolor full moon

It would take hundreds of thousands of moons to equal the brightness of the sun
Hardened “lunar lava” plains cover the moon’s surface from volcanic eruptions billions of years ago.
5 flags were planted during the exploration of the moon. Today, only 5 of them are still standing.
Some months show two moons. When this happens, the second moon is called a blue moon.
59 percent of the surface of the Moon is visible from Earth through changes in perspective.

NASA plans to build bases on the Moon.
The dust particles found on the moon are severely toxic since the particles are significantly small and jagged.
When the Earth occurs between the sun and the moon, it’s called a lunar eclipse.
The Moon was made when a rock smashed into Earth
The Moon gravitates around its own axis

Some places on the Moon can get colder than Pluto.
Naturally, our days are 12 hours long. Were it not for the moon; our days would be six hours long.
The Moon orbits the Earth at a speed of 1.02 km/second.
They typically appear white, since the light is normally too faint for the naked eye.
The Moon’s temperature ranges from -279 °F (-172 °C) at night to 260 °F (126 °C) in the afternoon

The Moon is 4.5 billion years old.
The Moon is the second densest satellite
The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite – a celestial body that orbits a planet.
The Moon orbits Earth at an average speed of 1.28 light seconds.
It would take you 135 days to reach the moon by car, driving at 70 mph.

Unlike the fresh air we breathe on our planet, there is not enough oxygen on the moon for humans to live.
The first successful landing of an unmanned spacecraft on the moon’s surface was the Soviet Union’s lunar program in 1966.
The Moon is one-quarter the diameter of the Earth
One study found that people experience remarkable sleep when a new moon manifests, and the worst sleep when a full moon shows.
Lunar rainbows, sometimes known as moonbows, are rainbows resulting from light reflecting off the moon.

Surface temperatures reach boiling point
The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth.
The temperature on the Moon varies from super hot to super cold!
To the naked eye, the moon appears bright, but it’s actually very dark, with the reflective power of coal.
Those craters can unlock space history

The moon’s surface is actually dark
The Moon is a lot smaller than The Sun
The Moon’s surface gravity is roughly one-sixth of Earth’s
A survey carried out in 2013 revealed that 7% of Americans believed the moon landing was a hoax.
The Moon has a magnetic field.

The Moon Buggies (lunar roving vehicles), specially designed and manufactured for lunar driving, were used in the Apollo missions 15, 16, and 17.
You always see the same side of the Moon
The Sun and the Moon are not the same size
A lunar eclipse saved Christopher Columbus
The Moon is drifting away from the Earth

The Moon controls the tides
Humans dreamed of reaching the Moon even in ancient times.
The last time human beings stepped on the moon was 1972
Only 12 people have ever walked on the Moon
During the 1950s, the USA considered detonating a nuclear bomb on the Moon

Neil Armstrong became the first man on the Moon in 1969.
The age of the oldest rock collected on the moon is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old.
The Moon’s crust measures 50 km thicker on its far side compared to its near side.
The moon’s surface consists of a large number of impact craters from asteroids and comets that have been colliding with the surface for many years.
You can’t breathe on the Moon

A 95-percent illuminated moon appears half as bright as a full moon
Although the moon appears to glow brightly, its surface is actually dark. This is because the moon reflects light from the sun, just the way the Earth does.
The moon’s surface is covered in huge craters caused by asteroids and comets crashing into the surface.
The moon has the largest crater of all the planets in the solar system.
Moon geography: the moon is riddled with large mountains and valleys

The Moon began with an explosive collision
The Moon is Earth’s only permanent natural satellite
The Moon is a dusty ball of rock, measuring 3,476km in diameter – that’s roughly a quarter of the size of Earth.
Its surface is home to mountains, huge craters, and flat planes called ‘seas’ made of hardened lava.
When a full moon is in proximity to the sun, it’s 14% bigger and 30% brighter.

Many regard the moon as an oval-shaped planet, but it isn’t. It’s actually oval-shaped, mimicking an egg.
An Astronaut’s footprint could stay that way forever on the moon since there is no water or wind on the moon’s surface.
There is no breeze or rain on the moon. So, the footprints left by astronauts from Apollo 11 are still on the moon’s surface today!
A permanent asymmetric dust cloud surrounds the Moon.
The Moon is about 250,000 miles (384,400 kilometers) from Earth.

Unlike Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, the moon has no rings.
The first Astronaut to play golf on the moon was Alan Shepherd in 1971.
Smartphones are more powerful than the computers used to land Apollo spacecraft on the surface of the Moon
The Moon’s near side has over 300,000 craters with a width greater than 1 km.
Moon dust smells like gunpowder

The Moon always shows Earth the same face
It takes 27.3 days for the Moon to travel all the way around the Earth and complete its orbit.
Humans who visited the moon have since left 96 bags of feces, urine, and vomit.
Although the moon looks quite close to the Earth, it is actually 239,000 miles away – about 45 times as long as the Great Wall of China!
Apollo 8 made the first manned orbit of the Moon in 1968.

Lunar bases are on the horizon
The Moon makes the Earth move as well as the tides
The diameter of the Moon is 2,159.2 miles (3,475 kilometers), i.e., a third the width of Earth
The first human to pee on the moon was Buzz Aldrin.
The moon is Earth’s chemical twin — but it’s smaller

There are orange rocks on the moon.
The Moon is getting further away
The first- or last-quarter moon is not one half as bright as a full moon
The Moon formed 4.51 billion years ago, around 50 million years after the birth of the Solar System.
Its iron core has an estimated thickness of 480 km

Facts About The Moon

Facts About The Moon

Are you looking for more fun and engaging facts to share with your family? Check out these other posts for more facts!

Leave a Comment Cancel reply