The Moon – Earth’s Natural Satellite

What is a satellite? Satellite – an object that orbits a more massive object Ex: The Moon Ex: Moons of other planets Many of the planets have satellites

The moon stays in place because of Earth’s gravity There is 240,000 miles separating Earth and the Moon About the size from New York to LA 100 times If a plane took us to the moon it would take us 20 days It took space ships about three days We only see one side of the moon

Different Parts of the Moon The side of the moon that we see is referred to as the near side of the moon Most of this side of the moon is the dark colored features, with some white features The side looking away from Earth is called the far side of the moon Most of this side of the moon is the light color that we see, with very few black spots

Sides of the Moon

Layers of the Moon Crust, just like earth it is only about 40 miles thick Mantle, makes up most of the Moon, made of iron and magnesium Core, material from here did not reach the Moon’s surface, so we do not know much about it.

Parts of the moon Mare – The dark area on the moon The Latin word for sea Highlands – The light colored areas on the moon These areas are higher in altitude than mare The moon has no atmosphere

Craters The highlands on the moon have many round features on them, these are called impact craters Space “junk” hit the moon and left these holes These collisions happened quite frequently when the solar system was forming, not as frequently today

Craters Some impact craters filled with molten rock, or lava from beneath the Moon’s surface The lava eventually filled some of the craters, hardened, and this is what we see as mare

How did it form? Earth and Moon have similar crusts and mantles. Scientists think that two space bodies hit each other. 1. Most of the material formed Earth’s core 2. Little bits and pieces formed Earth and Moon’s crust and mantle 3. Pieces that were left formed into the moon and started to orbit earth Happened quickly – only about a year!