Hailey Sughrue

The Earth’s Moon

The Moon’s Characteristics

 3476 km. in diameter.  ¼ the diameter of earth.  The gravity of the moon is 1/6 of the       

Earth’s. 3000 moonquakes per year. The outer crust is 60 km thick. Below the crust is a layer of denser rock about 800 km thick. The core may be made up of melted iron. No water. Temps. range from 100°C to -175°C. Dry, air less, and barren world.

Features of the Moon  Light areas on the moon are

mountain ranges.  Dark areas on the moon are lowland plains.  Huge craters, possibly formed by constant bombardment by meteorites.  Active volcanoes.

Movements of the Moon  The Moon revolves around the Earth    

in an elliptical orbit. It takes the Moon 27.3 days to rotate once on its axis. It also takes the Moon 27.3 days to revolve around the Earth. So a year is as long as a day on the moon. As a result we only see 1 side of the moon.

Origin of the Moon  There are 3 theories that explain the

“birth” of the Moon. - the Moon was born millions or billions of kilometers away from the Earth and was captured by the Earth’s gravity. - the Moon was formed by the same cloud of dust as the Sun and the rest of the planets. - the Earth was struck by an asteroid the size of Mars tearing off a