Some Characteristics of the moon Are their low temperature extremes, their rotation movements, their day and night cycles or their low gravity force.
The Moon is a natural satellite that orbits the planet Earth, with a radius of 1,079.6 miles (1,737.5 kilometers), is less than one-third the width of the Earth. It is the fifth largest natural satellite in the Solar System and was called"the moon"because people did not know that other moons existed until Galileo Galilei Discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610.
The planet Earth is just a planet of all known and thousands to be known. We are people, on a planet, in a solar system, in a galaxy, in a universe that spans millions and millions of light years.
There are debates about whether the universe is finite or infinite, everything is based on approximations. The truth is that the best scientists have tried to find an end but although they have extended their search to more than 13.8 billion light years in all directions from the earth, the result is fascinating: The universe does not have two equal parts, it does not repeat itself .
Although NASA has tried to know the universe is still impossible for us to know everything about him. Only in our Milky Way there are about 100 billion planets, some of which have not been discovered and those that have already been discovered, could not be visited.
However, in this universe of mysteries, there exists an astronomical body called"The Moon". This is the only place that in 2000 years of humanity has been able to be studied enough to extract various data and is the only extraterrestrial place that humans have been able to reach.
7 Important Features of The Moon
Although we say"The Moon", it is not the only moon in space. In fact, most of the planets have moons, some to multiple moons, as in the case of Jupiter and Saturn that possess more than 50 moons.
Each moon has similarities and differences, these are some characteristics of ours.
1) It is a natural satellite
Although the Moon projects luminescence to Earth at night and is of considerable size, the Moon is not a star. Although some moons are larger than Mercury, they are not planets either.
The Moon is a celestial body considered a natural satellite. It is a satellite because it orbits around the Earth and not around the Earth. Sun .
2) Does not have sufficient molecules to have an atmosphere
Unlike Earth, which has billions and billions of molecules per cubic centimeter, the moon may, with much effort, reach a few thousand molecules per cubic centimeter.
This makes its"atmosphere"is not considered one, the lunar molecules form an exosphere call and this greatly affects their physical characteristics. It has no air and no climate. That's why astronauts must wear space suits to breathe.
Since there is no air, there are no sounds, because the exosphere is not dense enough to carry them.
3) It has its own cycle of day and night:
Although it may not seem like it, the Moon has a day and a night. However, the duration of each is not the same as the duration on Earth.
The process that lasts 24 hours on Earth, takes about a month to reach the Moon. That is, the lunar day lasts from 13 to 15 days and the lunar night also.
On the Moon there is no way of knowing by the sky when it is day and when it is night. On our planet the sky looks blue, because the solar rays pass through the atmospheric layers of the earth creating colorful prisms. That is why sometimes the sky is orange or even red.
The Moon has no atmosphere, therefore, its sky is always black.
4) It has a very low force of gravity
The force of gravity is the force that draws the objects towards itself. That is why we are always with our feet on the ground and if we jump, we return to the same place.
The more mass an object has, the stronger its gravity. For that reason, the force of lunar gravity is much weaker than terrestrial gravity. If you jump 30 cm on Earth, you can probably jump up to 2 meters on the Moon.
Gravity also affects our weight (not our mass), for that reason we would weigh a few kilograms less being on the Moon. It has only 16% of the gravity of planet Earth.
5) Although it illuminates, it does not have any type of brightness
One might think that the Moon is white by the way it looks, but in reality, its surface is gray and does not radiate any kind of light. The reason it illuminates at night is because the moon acts as a mirror and reflects the light of the sun.
Due to its dark color and surface unevenness, the Moon only reflects 18% of the light it receives, which is why its luminosity is not as intense as that of the Sun.
6) Temperatures are extreme
Astronauts arriving at the Moon, not only wear their costumes to breathe. Also to be able to maintain regular temperatures like in the planet.
If they removed those suits, they would die in a matter of minutes or seconds by suffocation, freezing or calcination. The highest temperature recorded on Earth is 56.7 ° C in the US and the lowest temperature reached -89 ° C. However, the Moon's temperatures range from 107 ° C to -153 ° C.
The Earth manages to filter the heat that comes from the Sun through the atmosphere, that way, the Sun warms the planet with temperatures suitable for humans.
At nightfall, the heat is escaping but it has to pass through the same atmospheric layers; Therefore, the heat goes slowly and the nights become progressively colder.
As the Moon has no atmosphere, changes in temperature are abrupt because there are no layers that filter the variations. That's why you can switch from 100 ° C to -100 ° C in just minutes.
7) The movements of the Moon
The Moon, like Earth, performs two movements: Rotation and translation. The motions of the Moon are synchronized and therefore both last about 27.5 days.
Although the lunar phases make it appear that we see different sides of the Moon, it is not so. Due to its timing, it takes the same time to rotate orbit the Earth, therefore, it is impossible to see the other side of the Moon.
The lunar phases depend on the translation. As the Moon has no light, its visibility depends solely on the Sun, while the Moon orbits the Earth receives sunlight in different places.
Depending on its position with respect to the Sun, it will illuminate different portions of the visible part of the Moon which in turn will reflect that light towards the Earth.
When it stands between the Sun and Earth, the light illuminates the side we can not see, causing a New Moon. However, being on the opposite side of the Sun, it illuminates the part that if we can see causing a Full Moon.
The cycle begins in New Moon, it goes to the Fourth Crescent, then the Full Moon arrives, then the Waning Quarter and finally, New Moon to finish the cycle.
References
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- Cain, F"How long is a day on the Moon?"Retrieved on 04 July 2017 since
- Major, J (2015)"This is the Moon, the whole Moon and nothing but the Moon"Retrieved on July 04, 2017 since
- Erickson, K."What is Gravity?"Recovered on July 4, 2017 from nasa.gov
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration"Earth's Moon: In Depth"Recovered on July 4, 2017 from nasa.gov.