The Moon

Brent YeeLindsey Seu

The Moon

Brent YeeLindsey Seu

The moon

• Due to size, classified as “Terrestrial Planet”• Second Brightest object besides the sun• Only natural satellite of the Earth– Orbit: 384,400 km from Earth– Earth Diameter: 3476 km – Mass: 7.35e22 kg

Discovery

• Visited in 1959 by Soviet Space Craft– Space craft called “Lunar 2”

• The first landing was on July 20, 1969 – Last landing December 1972

Interior of the Moon

• Core similar to Earth’s Core– Iron Rich core.– Contains small percent of light elements such as

sulfur.

Surface Geology

• Moon is in synchronous rotation.• Its axis rotates in about the same time it takes

to orbit the Earth.• The side of the moon not facing earth is called

the “dark side.”• A topography of the moon has been measured

with laser altimetry.

Aitken Basin

• The largest known crater on the moon and in the solar system.

• About 2,240 km in diameter• Located on the far side of the South Pole

Volcanic Features

• The lunar planes visible to the eye are called the Maria.

• Are known to be pools of ancient basalt lava.• Light colored regions are called Terrae• Radiometrically dated as forming 4.4 billion

years ago.

Presence of Water

• Liquid water cannot persist on the lunar surface.

• When exposed to solar radiation id decomposes by photodissociation.

• Although scientists hypothesize that ice may have been deposited due to comets.

Gravity and Magnetic Fields

• The gravitational field of the moon has been measured through tracking the Doppler shift of radio signals.

• Has an external magnetic field that is less than 1/100th that of Earth.

Atmosphere

• Has an atmosphere that is described as a vacuumn.

• Surface pressure of mass is around 3 x 10^15 atm

• Elements detected are sodium and potassium.

Phases of the Moon

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXseTWTZlks

Works Cited

• Astronauts, The. "The Moon." Views of the Solar System. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <http://www.solarviews.com/eng/moon.htm>.

• "The Moon." PAETEC. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <http://www.netaxs.com/~mhmyers/moon.tn.html>.

• "The Moon." Welcome to the NSSDC! Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/moonpage.html>.

• "Moon." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon>.