Did You Know?

July 20, 1969, is the day humans first stepped into moon’s orbit One day later Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the dusty surface and walked across the lunar surface. They spent hours collecting priceless lunar rocks, while Michael Collins, another astronaut took charge of the operating spacecraft, waiting for them to finish their exploration and rejoin. While this was dream and a vision about competing with the USSR, much remains unknown about the Moon mission. City Express brings to you a few more facts about Moon

The moon was formed when a rock, the size of Mars, slammed into Earth, shortly after the solar system began taking shape about 4.5 billion years ago. This fact has been established by the most widely accepted theory, ‘Giant Impact Hypothesis’ or ‘Big Splash’, or ‘The Theia Impact’

Moon is not the earth’s only natural satellite. In 1997, scientists discovered another body, Cruithne, which is called a quasi-orbital satellite of Earth. It doesn’t loop around our planet like the Moon does or like the artificial satellites in the orbit. Instead, it scuttles around the inner solar system in what’s called a ‘horseshoe’ orbit.

Seeds of more than 400 trees on Earth have been to lunar orbit. How did this happen? In 1971, Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa took a bunch of seeds with him and while two others, Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell were busy sauntering around on the surface, Roosa guarded his seeds. He brought them back and planted them now identified as moon trees. 

The moon’s heavily cratered surface is the result of intense pummelling by space rocks between 4.1 billion and 3.8 billion years ago.

The moon is not round (or spherical). Instead, it’s shaped like an egg. If you go outside and look up, one of the small ends is pointing right at you.

Quakes occur on the Moon too. Apollo astronauts, during their visit to moon, used seismometers. Small moon quakes occur on the satellite which are thought to be caused by the gravitational pull of Earth.

Tides on Earth are caused by the Moon. The moon’s gravity pulls on Earth’s oceans. High tide aligns with the Moon as Earth spins underneath.

Each year, the Moon moves away from us. As the moon steals some of Earth’s rotational energy, and uses it to propel itself about 3.8 centimetres higher. According to  researchers, when it was formed, the moon was about 22,530 km away from Earth. It’s now more than 450,000 km away.