THE

MOON
MOON
 A look at our nearest neighbor in space.
 What is the moon?
 A natural satellite
 One of more than 96 moons in our Solar System.
 The only moon of the planet Earth
Location,location,location!
 About 384,000 km (240,000 miles) from the Earth
 3,468 km (2,155 miles) in diameter (about ¼ the size of
Earth)
 Birth of the moon
 FIRST STAGE
 Moon originally was once part of the Earth
 Scientists believe a very large body hit the Earth early in its
development throwing a huge amount of debris into orbit
 Debris eventually was influence by Earths gravity and formed the
moon we have today.
 SECOND STAGE
 After forming a
sphere,the surface of
• Meteoroids decreased
the moon was
• Moon cooled completely
coveredby molten
• Moon changed little in 3 billion years
rock.
 Eventually, this mix of
rock separeted
 THIRD STAGE
 The outer surface of
the moon cooled
forming a crust.
 Craters started to form
from the constant
bombardment by
meteoroids.
 Cut to the
 CRUST-
Core
3 Major Divisions of the Lunar interior
average thickness of about 70 kilometers
 MANTLE
 CORE- radius is between 300 and 425 kilometers
The Moon’s Surface
 No Atmosphere
 No Liquid Water
 Extreme temperatures
 Daytime – 130 degree C
(265 degree F)

 Nighttime =_ 190 degree C

 (-310 Degree F)
 1/6 Earth’s gravity
 The Moon’s
 Surface
Lunar rocks and dust cover most of the surface
 This layer called the regolith
 1-6 meters deep
 The lack of an atmosphere let many more meteorites strike the
moon’ssurface, creating this layer of crushed rock.
 Anothosites are light colored coarse-grained rocks found in the lunar
highlands.
 Breccia contains fragments of others rocks that have melted
together, and are found everywhere on the moon.
Lunar Features - Highlands
 Mountains up to 7500 m (25,000 ft) tall
 Rilles (trenchlike valleys)
 Lunar Features-
 Craters
Bowl shaped depressions
 Up to 2500 km (1,553 miles) across
 Most formed by meteorite impact on the moon
 Some formed by volcanic action inside the moon
 Lunar features-
Craters
 When meteorites struck surface they “displaced material”
 Like a “splash“
 Marks left called rays
 Lunar features-
Maria
 Originally thought to be “seas” by early astronomers
 Darkest parts of lunar landscape
 Filled by lava after crash of huge meteorites on lunar surface 3-4
billion years ago
 Mostly basalt rock
Thank you
for listening!!!