The Moon: Our Celestial Partner

Looking at the the Moon is something we all do frequently. It is a part of our life routine. Very few of us would consider the extraordinary beauty of the Moon in its ever changing phases. Lets examine this amazing, fascinating, beautiful Moon.

The Moon is approximately 238,855 miles from the Earth. It took the Apollo astronauts 3 days to get to the Moon. The Moon was formed about 4.5 billion years ago. The Earth itself is also 4.5 billion years old. As current scientific theories explain Earth's Moon was formed from a collision of Earth with a planetismel, similar to Mars, which was named Theia. The Moon obtained debris from that collision. This is not made up. This event was recorded in the chemical makeup of the rock samples that were retreived from the Moon.

Most people do not realize how of a massive Moon we have. It is a quarter of the total size of Earth which is approximately four times larger than all of the other planet's Moons that they orbit. This is evidence that our planet is really a double planet system which is a fascinating thing to consider about our planet system.

The moon's size and distance have a surprisingly large systemic impact. It has a stabilizing effect on the Earth's axial tilt, which remains at 23.5 degrees. In the absence of a moon, the axial tilt could increase a lot and radically change the climate over and over on the Earth. In a sense, the moon has been protecting the Earth.

The tides that the moon causes through the moon's gravitational pull have also been of massive importance in Earth's history. They have shaped coastlines and marine ecosystems, and have helped guide sailors. While the sun has a small impact as well, the moon is the strongest. When the moon and the sun are in line with Earth, spring tides occur. When they are at a right angle, neap tides occur.

The surface of the moon with no active atmosphere is also a record of its history. There are no active processes that change the surface. Some of its craters are billions of years old. The large patches of lava flow that are called maria are also billions of years old. They are the remains of ancient volcanism.

Like most celestial bodies, the Moon also possesses water ice, located in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles. The borders of these craters are regions of the Moon that have never been exposed to the light of the Sun. The confirmation of water ice on the Moon within the last couple of decades has led to a revolution in thinking about the Moon and the possibilities for advanced lunar exploration. The aforementioned ice has the potential to be processed into potable water and/or rocket fuel.

From 1969 to 1972, 12 astronauts were sent to the Moon for a total of 6 lunar landings. They were the only humans to have ever walked on the surface of the Moon, and now it has been over 50 years since humans walked on the lunar surface. Currently, multiple agencies are racing to put humans on the Moon once again.