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"Don't tell me the moon is shining, show me the glint of light on broken glass" - Anton Chekhov. The moon has always been something that has intrigued me. The different stages of it, the size of it, the distance from Earth. All these questions are asked by many people but only some know the answers to.
The moon is an astronomical body that orbits around planet Earth, the moon is known to be Earth's only permanent natural satellite and it is also the 5th largest natural satellite in the solar system. One of the very first things I was curious about when taking an interest in the moon was the size, after some research I found that the moon is about 3475 kilometers across.
Other things I learnt about the moon was that it is 402336 kilometres away from the earth which is so baffling due to the fact that on some nights the moon looks so incredibly close to us. The moon is also the same age as Earth and the rest of the solar system which is around about 4.5 billions years old.
It is a possibility that the moon and Earth were created around the same time, all around the same time that the solar system was formed. It is believed that the moon was formed when an object smashed into early Earth. Just like other planets, Earth was formed from the left over cloud of dust and gas orbiting the young sun. One of the bodies that were created that did not make it to full planetary status could have crashed into Earth not longer after it was created, it was known as Theia, it is Mars-sized. After colliding with Earth the chunks of Earths crust were bound together by gravity and this is how the moon was formed, this is known as the giant impact hypothesis
There are eight major phases that the moon goes through, namely the new moon, the waxing crescent, the first quarter, the waxing gibbous, the full moon, the waning gibbous, the last quarter and the waning crescent.
The new moon is when the moon cannot be seen due to the fact that we are looking at the unlit half of the moon, and this occurs when the moon is directly between the Sun and Earth. The waxing crescent is when the moon looks like a crescent and the crescent increases in size from one day to the next, and is usually on seen in the west. The first quarter moon also known as the the half moon is when half of the lit portion of the moon is visible and it come after the waxing crescent moon and a week after the new moon.
The waxing gibbous moon is the 4th phase of the moon, it occurs when more than half the lit portion of the moon can be seen and the shape increases in size from one day to the next. The full moon then comes next, it occurs when the entire moon is lit and visible, and this only happens when the moon is on the opposite end of the Earth from the Sun. A waning gibbous moon is the 6th phase of the moon and it occurs more than half of the moon is visible and the size of the moon decreases. The second last phase is known as the last quarter moon also known as the half moon and this is when the lit portion of the moon is visible and it is the opposite side of the first quarter. Finally the 8th and last phase of the moon is known as the waning crescent and this moon recognizable when the moon looks like the crescent and the crescent decreases in size.
The moon is an astronomical body that orbits around planet Earth, the moon is known to be Earth's only permanent natural satellite and it is also the 5th largest natural satellite in the solar system. One of the very first things I was curious about when taking an interest in the moon was the size, after some research I found that the moon is about 3475 kilometers across.
Other things I learnt about the moon was that it is 402336 kilometres away from the earth which is so baffling due to the fact that on some nights the moon looks so incredibly close to us. The moon is also the same age as Earth and the rest of the solar system which is around about 4.5 billions years old.
It is a possibility that the moon and Earth were created around the same time, all around the same time that the solar system was formed. It is believed that the moon was formed when an object smashed into early Earth. Just like other planets, Earth was formed from the left over cloud of dust and gas orbiting the young sun. One of the bodies that were created that did not make it to full planetary status could have crashed into Earth not longer after it was created, it was known as Theia, it is Mars-sized. After colliding with Earth the chunks of Earths crust were bound together by gravity and this is how the moon was formed, this is known as the giant impact hypothesis
There are eight major phases that the moon goes through, namely the new moon, the waxing crescent, the first quarter, the waxing gibbous, the full moon, the waning gibbous, the last quarter and the waning crescent.
The new moon is when the moon cannot be seen due to the fact that we are looking at the unlit half of the moon, and this occurs when the moon is directly between the Sun and Earth. The waxing crescent is when the moon looks like a crescent and the crescent increases in size from one day to the next, and is usually on seen in the west. The first quarter moon also known as the the half moon is when half of the lit portion of the moon is visible and it come after the waxing crescent moon and a week after the new moon.
The waxing gibbous moon is the 4th phase of the moon, it occurs when more than half the lit portion of the moon can be seen and the shape increases in size from one day to the next. The full moon then comes next, it occurs when the entire moon is lit and visible, and this only happens when the moon is on the opposite end of the Earth from the Sun. A waning gibbous moon is the 6th phase of the moon and it occurs more than half of the moon is visible and the size of the moon decreases. The second last phase is known as the last quarter moon also known as the half moon and this is when the lit portion of the moon is visible and it is the opposite side of the first quarter. Finally the 8th and last phase of the moon is known as the waning crescent and this moon recognizable when the moon looks like the crescent and the crescent decreases in size.
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