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