An inseparable companion of the Earth, the Moon is our closest celestial body and therefore, it is very visible, showing its friendly face and often brightening our nights. Although lacking an energy source of its own, the moon shines mainly because of the sunlight reflecting from its surface. A closer look into this intriguing celestial body reveals interesting findings and characteristics.
Main Features
The Moon’s size is equal to about a quarter of the Earth, therefore it is considered a mini-planet probably formed by the aggregation of meteoritic material adjacent to the Earth’s orbit during the formation of the Solar System.
It is very likely that volcanic activity was originally present on the moon and, this is easily demonstrated by analyzing the findings collected during the Apollo missions, which were recognized to be structures similar to those found in volcanoes on planet Earth. In particular are certainly of this type those channels that appear to be remnants of the erosion exerted by magmatic material spilled billions of years ago from fractures formed on the surface.
Because of the absence of an atmosphere, there is a strong difference in temperature between the bright and the dark side of the Moon, reaching a significant variation of over 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Furthermore, the gravity, being only one-sixth of that of Earth, makes this satellite of our planet a completely inhospitable world.
Ultimately, we must remember that the Moon and our planet are linked by a force of mutual attraction, evident in the phenomenon of tides, which reduces the Earth’s speed of rotation, with the consequence that our planet’s days are continually and imperceptibly becoming longer.
Moon Structures
The Moon has a rough surface composed of mountains mixed with plains called seas of the Moon (nothing to do with our kind of seas due to the absence of water on the moon). The most famous of these regions is the Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility), where on July 21st 1969 landed the Apollo 11 starting the human exploration of our natural satellite. Worthy of note are the Oceanus Procellarum and the Mare Imbrium, because of their vast dimensions making them visible to the naked eye.
On the lunar surface, which we now know to the smallest details, are also present huge craters, remnants of a remote meteorite bombardment. Three of them, called by the names of great astronomers of the past, Ptolemy, Copernicus and Tycho, are visible from Earth even with a modest pair of binoculars, due to their huge diameters, respectively measuring approximately 95, 54 and 56 miles.
The moon, as already mentioned, is also composed by mountain ranges, reaching in some cases 10,900 feet in height (Mons Blanc), which have been given names similar to analogous structures found on Earth. Among them we include the Montes Alpes, the Montes Carpatus and the Montes Apenninus Moon.