The Moon

The Moon Luna in Latin ~380,000 km from Earth About the Distance of 30 Earths Only celestial body in which humans have landed on

Gravity Gravity on the Moon is only 17% or about 1/6 of the Gravity on Earth... So, at 180 pounds, Mr. Robinson would weigh only 30 pounds on Earth... Seems like an easy way to diet.

The Moon's Orbit Due to the Gravity from the Earth, the Moon orbits the Earth The Moon circles the Earth every 27.3 Days. This is called a Lunar Month

Synchronous Rotation The Earth and the Moon ROTATE at ALMOST the same rate Therefore, the same side of the Moon faces the Earth at almost all times There is a back side to the Moon

Craters and Mountains The Moon has been struck by comets and meteors many times Impacts make craters, the darker parts of the Moon The lighter parts are mountains

Inside the Moon

Moon Formation FOUR Theories Fission Theory Capture Theory Co-formation Theory Giant Impact Theory

Fission Theory When the Earth began to spin, the Moon split off, leaving the Pacific Ocean behind

Capture Theory The Moon is from outer space and it was caught by the Gravity of the Earth and began to rotate around

Co-formation Theory The Earth and the Moon formed at the same time But... How did the Moon start rotating then?

Giant Impact Theory A small planetesimal struck the Earth The impact caused dust and gas to leave the Earth and gravitate together forming the Moon

SPACE RACE The United States and the then- Soviet Union engaged in a race to explore space (contributed to the Cold War) 1959- Soviet Luna 1, Luna 2, Luna 3 explore the Moon (no humans aboard) 1966- Luna 9 lands on Moon Luna 10 circles 1969-1972- Six Apollo Missions successfully land humans onto the Moon Moon Race Dates- http://www.solarviews.com/eng/craft2.htm#moon

Tides The Gravity of the Moon pulls the water from the Earth closer to the Moon resulting in tides

High Tide and Low Tide There are TWO High Tides and TWO Low Tides every day High Tide = High Water Low Tide = Low Water Tide Locator http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/gmap3/

Links Brain POP - Moon http://www.brainpop.com/science/space/moon/ Brain POP - Tides http://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/tides/ Google Moon http://www.google.com/moon/