Tonight when it is dark, look up at the sky..... What do you see? What is that big white ball in the sky, or maybe you do not see anything, or maybe just a small piece.....
Yes, it is the moon. Lets learn more about it.
The Moon in NOT a planet. It is made of rocks and it moves around Earth in a circle (or orbit) - just like Earth orbits around the Sun, the Moon orbits around Earth.
Some interesting facts about the moon
- The Moon is smaller than Earth.
- The Moon is made of rock and the surface of the Moon is rock and grey sand.
- The Moon has no air and water.
- People weigh less on the Moon than on Earth, because the force of gravity is less there than on Earth.
- The Sun is much further away from Earth than the Moon.
- The Moon is 384 000 km from Earth.
Have people been to the moon?
In 1969 a rocket called Apollo 11 where send to the Moon with three men in it - this was the first time a human went to the Moon.
- Do research and find the names of the first men on the Moon.
- What is the famous saying that one of the men said when he walked on the moon for the first time?
The different phases are named the following
- Waxing Crescent
- First Quarter
- Waxing Gibbous
- Full Moon
- Waning Gibbous
- Third Quarter
- Waning Crescent
The moon moves in an orbit around Earth and it takes 29 and a half days to complete the full orbit (go around Earth once)
_But does the moon really change its shape? _No, it is just because the Moon orbits Earth and depending on the position of the Sun, the Moon and Earth in the orbit, Earth can block the Sun's light from reaching the Moon and casts a shadow - you cannot see the part of the moon where the shadow is - we only see the part of the Moon on which the Sun shines.
What do we find on the Moon?
Read the following story and imagine it is you going to the Moon. When you are done reading the story, re-tell it to your friend.
The spacecraft goes down slowly to the Moon's surface and blows up a big dust cloud in the air. There is no air on the Moon so the dust just falls back quickly to the surface. We have to put on our space suits, we must make sure there is air in the tanks to breathe, we need our radios to talk to one another and special glass helmets to protect our eyes from the Sun.
The ground under our feet is grey sand, dust and small rocks.
The craters that we see are big holes in the surface of the Moon. (this is created because some Moon Rocks that travel very fast through space, sometimes smash into the Moon.) In the places where they hit, they make a hole and a ring of sand.
The sky is black, not blue. We can see the stars and the Sun at the same time. The Sun is much brighter than on Earth and we are glad we have protective glass in our helmets.
We wear special shoes because the temperature of the ground is hotter than boiling water, but if we stop in the shade of a rock, the temperature is colder than ice. (The temperature changes so much because there is no air on the Moon. On Earth the air keeps the Earth's surface from getting too hot or too cold.)
- Why do we need tanks with air and special glass in our helmets?
- What can we see at the same time from the Moon?
- Explain what the temperature is like on the Moon.
- What are the holes in the Moon called and how are they made?