##BEST## Download Moon Png
Hope Yelvington
In terms of diameter, the moon is approximately one-fourth the size of Earth. When it comes to surface area, the Moon covers about 1/16th of Earth's total surface area. In regards to mass, the moon has roughly 1.2% of Earth's mass.
The point in the moon's orbit when it is closest to Earth is called perigee, often referred to as a \"supermoon.\" At perigee, the moon is approximately 224,000 miles (360,000 km) from Earth. During a supermoon, the moon appears about 14% larger than at its furthest point, known as apogee or a \"micromoon,\" it also appears around 30% brighter in the sky.
I believe it's hard to distinguish between a supermoon and a micromoon with the naked eye, but it is easier to see the direct effects by observing the tides. A spring tide occurs during the full and new moons and is when the tidal range is the largest. During a supermoon's spring tide, the tides exhibit approximately a 2-inch larger variation compared to regular spring tides. Conversely, during a micromoon's spring tide, the tides have a 2-inch smaller variation than normal spring tides. This difference occurs because the gravitational pull of the moon is stronger when it is closer to Earth during perigee and weaker when it is farther away during apogee.
The moon, which is relatively large compared to our planet, is believed to have formed as a result of a collision between Earth and a smaller Mars-sized planet, based on analysis of lunar samples and the similarities in composition between the moon and Earth. So, in a sense, the moon did collide with Earth in the past.
Currently, the moon is not on a trajectory to crash into Earth. It is gradually moving away from Earth at about 1.5 inches per year. The moon plays several important roles, such as stabilizing the tilt of our orbit, causing seasonal changes, influencing tides, and aiding nocturnal animal navigation. If the moon were to suddenly disappear, it would lead to significant environmental changes, and life on Earth, particularly animals, would face challenges in adapting to such drastic shifts. However, due to its slow departure, we do not notice substantial changes.
The rhythm of the phases of the moon has guided humanity for millennia; for instance, calendar months are roughly equal to the time it takes to go from one full moon to the next. But the moon's orbit and phases can seem mysterious. for example, the moon always shows us the same face, but it's always changing size as how much of it we see depends on the moon's position in relation to Earth and the sun.
The moon is a bit more than one-fourth (27%) the size of Earth, a much larger ratio (1:4) than any other moons to their planets. This means the moon has a great effect on our planet and may even be a major factor in making life on Earth possible.
Chiara Ferrari-Wong is a PhD Candidate and Graduate Research Assistant at the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, affiliated with the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Her research focuses on remote sensing instrumentation and the study of volatiles present on the moon.
The point in the moon's orbit when it is closest to Earth is called perigee, often referred to as a "supermoon." At perigee, the moon is approximately 224,000 miles (360,000 km) from Earth. During a supermoon, the moon appears about 14% larger than at its furthest point, known as apogee or a "micromoon," it also appears around 30% brighter in the sky.
There are various theories about how the moon was created, but recent evidence indicates it formed when a huge collision tore off a chunk of the primitive molten Earth, sending the raw ingredients for the moon into orbit.
Scientists have suggested the impacting object was likely about 10% the mass of Earth and about the size of Mars. Because Earth and the moon are so similar in composition, researchers have concluded that the impact must have occurred about 95 million years after the formation of the solar system, give or take 32 million years. (The solar system is roughly 4.6 billion years old.)
In 2015, new research gave further weight to this theory, using simulations of planetary orbits in the early solar system as well as newly uncovered differences in the abundance of the element tungsten-182 detected in the Earth and the moon.
While this theory, most commonly known as the large impact theory, is the dominant theory in the scientific community, there are several other ideas for the moon's formation. These include the concept that the Earth captured the moon, that the moon fissioned out of the Earth or even that Earth may even have stolen the moon from Venus.
The moon very likely has a very small core, just 1% to 2% of the moon's mass and roughly 420 miles (680 km) wide. It likely consists mostly of iron, but may also contain large amounts of sulfur and other elements.
The crust that includes the lunar surface averages some 42 miles (70 km) deep. The outermost part of the crust is broken and jumbled due to all the large impacts the moon has endured , with the shattered zone giving way to intact material below a depth of about 6 miles (9.6 km).
Like our solar system's four innermost planets, the moon is rocky. It's pockmarked with craters created by asteroid impacts millions of years ago and, because there is no weather, the craters have not eroded.
Orbiting spacecraft have found traces of water on the lunar surface that may have originated from deep underground. They have also located hundreds of pits that could one-day house explorers living on the moon long-term.
Ongoing observations from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) have shown that water is more abundant on slopes facing the lunar south pole, although scientists do caution that the water quantity is comparable to an extremely dry desert. Meanwhile, a 2017 study suggested the moon's interior could be abundant in water too.
High tides refer to water bulging up from Earth's surface, and low tides when water levels drop. High tide occurs on the side of the Earth nearest the moon due to gravity, and on the side farthest from the moon due to the inertia of water. Low tides occur between these two humps.
The pull of the moon is also slowing the Earth's rotation, an effect known as tidal braking, which increases the length of our day by 2.3 milliseconds per century. The energy that Earth loses is picked up by the moon, increasing its distance from the Earth, which means the moon gets farther away by 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) annually.
The moon's gravitational pull may have been key to making Earth a livable planet by moderating the degree of wobble in Earth's axial tilt, which led to a relatively stable climate over billions of years in which life could flourish.
During eclipses, the moon, Earth and sun are in a straight line, or nearly so. A lunar eclipse takes place when Earth is directly between the sun and the moon, casting Earth's shadow onto the moon's face. A lunar eclipse can occur only during a full moon.
Depending on the degree to which the moon blocks the sun as seen from a particular location on Earth, a solar eclipse can be total, annular or partial. Total solar eclipses are rare in a given location because the shadow of the moon is so small on the Earth's surface.
But the moon's axis is tilted by only about 1.5 degrees, so the moon doesn't experience noticeable seasons. This means that some areas are always lit by sunlight, and other places are perpetually draped in shadow.
Some ancient communities believed the moon was a bowl of fire, while others thought it was a mirror that reflected Earth's lands and seas, but ancient Greek philosophers knew the moon was a sphere orbiting the Earth whose moonlight reflected sunlight.
The Renaissance astronomer Galileo Galilei was the first to use a telescope to make scientific observations of the moon, describing in 1609 a rough, mountainous surface that was quite different from the popular beliefs of his day that the moon was smooth.
In 1959, the Soviet Union sent the first spacecraft to impact the moon's surface and returned the first photographs of its far side. This spurred a series of Cold War-era uncrewed missions launched by both the Soviet Union and the United States to observe the moon's surface.
Many of these early moon probes were failures or only partially successful. However, over time, these missions began to return information about the moon's surface and geological history. The United States launched a series of missions dubbed Pioneer, Ranger and Surveyor, while the Soviet Union sent probes under the names Luna and Zond.
df19127ead