Quickie Questions - Moon Madness - Other

Date Answered Questioner (age, location) Question Answer

January 13, 2010Andrew (age 10, Lubbok,Texas) How long does it take the moon to go through one of its phases If we considere the 8 Phases of the Moon and keep in mind that the moon finishes a full cycle in about 30 days, then it is just a matter of division, 30/8 = 3.75 days for each phase.
January 6, 2010Rosanna (age 15, Australia) Do the moon affect the change of season and temperature on Earth? If so how? No in any important measure. Our Moon main influence is seen in the ocean tides.
December 22, 2009kieron (age 10, uk) how heavy is the moon It makes more sense to talk about the mass of the moon, 7.35 × 1022 KG (0.012 of Earth's mass).
October 13, 2009Jonathan (age 13, California) I have a question about the theory of evolution (and yes, its a theory not a fact), if the moon is slowly moving away from us (i believe it is at a rate of 2 inch. per year) then wouldn't that mean it was closer before? if so wouldn't that mean that even in a few million years or so the moon would be so close that the tides would be hundred of feet high and it would disrupt the gravitational pulls? I will let an astronomer answer your question. See here for a nice discussion on this topic.
October 13, 2009Jonathan (age 13, California) I have a question about the theory of evolution (and yes, its a theory not a fact), if the moon is slowly moving away from us (i believe it is at a rate of 2 inch. per year) then wouldn't that mean it was closer before? if so wouldn't that mean that even in a few million years or so the moon would be so close that the tides would be hundred of feet high and it would disrupt the gravitational pulls? I will let an astronomer answer your question. See here.
October 8, 2009Robert (age 9, georgia) if you dropped marbles into a pan of sand,what would you be simulating about the moons surface? Maybe meteorites striking the moon surface?
September 28, 2009Aysha (age 13, Bangladesh) "As in a Solar Eclipse the moon covers the sun and the part of sun which is not covered by sun gives out light.It can be said that in front of sun moon is not giving out any light.Then when the moon is in the other part of earth where solar eclipse occur then how the light of the sun reach the moon and how it glows?" It seems that there are two different types of eclipses mixed in your question. When the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth we have what is called a Solar Eclipse. Now, when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth respect to the Sun, and the shadow of our planet reaches the Moon, then we have a Lunar Eclipse.
August 6, 2009Amanda (age 14, california) What is the density of a moon? The density of the Earth's Moon is 3.346 g/cm3. Other moons have different densities.
June 2, 2009Allie (age 13, Missouri) Do you look for any living things on the moon? Our Moon has been carefully studied for many years. As the only celestial body visited by humans, the samples collected have been processed by many scientists. No traces of life have been found in them.
April 28, 2009Lily (age 12, Azerbaijan, Baku) if the sun has more than twice the amount of gravity of the earth why doesn't the moon go flying off to be with the sun? The moon with the earth form a system that is moving around the Sun. The moon stays around the earth due to our planet gravity force, of higher value because is significantly closer to the moon.
April 20, 2009Savanna (age 13, New York) would the gravitational force of the moon allow us to jump higher if the moon was directly overhead? There is not a significant difference in the net gravitational force, or at least significant enough to alter our jumping capacity, when the moon is overhead.
April 13, 2009sydney (age 19, egypt) why is the moon turning yellow when its full moon? The coloring of the moon is usually related with the amount of particulae, water vapor or other contaminants in the atmosphere.
April 13, 2009Luke (age 12, alabama) If Evolutionist are right how do you explain the dust on the moon? How come IF the universe is billions of years old why is there so little dust on the moon? There are lots of dust on the Moon surface. You can read some details in these two articles: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/30jan_smellofmoondust.htm, and http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080924191552.htm.
March 25, 2009Marco (age 9, Italy) Whats the name of our moon? It is just... the Moon. Although it is also called Luna (Spanish), Tsuki (Japaneese), Lune (French),Måne (Danish), etc.
March 4, 2009kumi (age 22, malaysia) what is the duration for the moonlight to arrive at the earth? Moonlight, the relection of the sunlight on the Moon surface, travels at about 300 000 km/sec. If the average Earth-Moon distance is about 384 000 km (center to center), then it would take a little over a second for the monnlight to arrive to Earth.
February 19, 2009pat (age 63, Illinois) when will the moon escape earth's gravity? If no catastrophic event occurs, the Moon will not leave the Earth's gravity, even though the orbit of the Moon is increasing slightly (by about 3 cm/year).
February 5, 2009emmilie (age 11, nyusa) how much gravity is on the moon. The Moon's gravity is one-sixth of the Earth's gravity, about 1.6 m/s2 (Earth's gravity is 9.8 m/s2).
February 5, 2009shania (age 10, nyusa) dosethemoongrow. Although some times we see our moon bigger, it is only an optical phenomenon. The moon size is constant, 3,474 km in diameter.
February 5, 2009Arina (age 11, Canada,Ontario) Why are we able to see Earth's moon? Because two main reasons, it reflects the sunlight, and it is not too far from our planet.
January 22, 2009char (age 16, cyprus) was moon really a part of earth?if yes why didnt it develop as fast as earth did? There are four main theories of how the moon formed. They are: Co-Formation (Earth & Moon formed together in place), Capture (Earth gravitationally captured the Moon), Fission (Moon split off from a fast-spinning proto-Earth), Giant Impact (Proto-Earth hit by a Mars-sized body and Moon formed from the debris).
October 21, 2008kaylashay (age 10, jamacia) what is a moon? A moon is any substantially sized natural satellite of a planet.
August 24, 2008aiman (age 12, malaysia) what happen during the death of the sun? A star with a mass similar to that of our Sun and in the last phase of its life is a red giant. Hydrogen fusion reactions have become less efficient in the core region, and the fusion reactions now occur in a shell surrounding the core. The outer layers then cool to about 3000 K and becomes a red star of a huge size. After a few more millions of years, the star evolves into a white dwarf-planetary nebula system.
August 18, 2008Gabby (age 11, Hawaii\USA) well if a litte kitten that was one pound would it flot off the moon The weight of the kitten on the moon surface will be around 0.2 lb. If there is no action over the kitten (like somebody throwing the kitten), it will stay at rest on the surface.
July 3, 2008Breanna (age 10/, nevada) is the moon hot or cold? Because there is no atmosphere to trap heat, the temperatures on the Moon are extreme, ranging from 100° C at noon to -173° C at night.
June 30, 2008bob (age 11, ny/usa) i am confued what do most of you scietests call "the moon"?????????????????????????? The moon is called... the moon. Other languages have different names, like "Luna" in Spanish, or "Maan" in Dutch, but in all cases is the same word used to identify natural satellites moving around planets.
June 30, 2008bob (age 11, ny/usa) i am confued what do most of you scietests call "the moon"?????????????????????????? The moon is called... the moon. Other languages have different names, like "Luna" in Spanish, or "Maan" in Dutch, but in all cases is the same word used to identify natural satellites moving around planets,
June 26, 2008Neil (age , England) How does our moon orbit the sun? In a series of loops or spiral?
Thanks.
 Using many approximations (due to the complex interaction of the bodies involved, mainly the sun, earth and moon, this could become a very deep discussion), the moon orbit about the sun would seem something like this.
June 26, 2008taryn (age 12, florda) who is the god or godesses of the moon Many mythologies include lunar deities. For example, the Greek goddesses Selene and Phoebe, the Olympian Artemis, the Roman Luna and Diana, and the Thracian Bendis.
June 25, 2008Rebeka (age 11, Scotland) On the Moon a 60kg mand would only weigh 10kg why? Gravity on earth's surface is 9.8 m/s2. Due to its much smaller mass, moon's gravity is much less than the earth's gravity, 83.3% (or 5/6), which is 8.17 m/s2. Because weight is the quantification of the gravity atraction between two objects, this smaller gravity would result in a lower weight.
June 20, 2008Chany (age 12, WA,) why does the moon have a core? The evidences for a very small lunar core supports the hypothesis of the giant impact. Such hypothesis says that the Moon formed from hot, rocky debris after a Mars-sized object smashed into the early Earth.
June 20, 2008dave (age 8, maine) why do we have two tides if the moon only comes out once a day A simple answer to your question is that the gravitational forces of Moon and Earth are not balanced on both sides of the planet, the closest and the farther from the Moon. This causes tides on both sides. A more detailed explanation can be found here.
June 16, 2008Danielle (age 12, canada ,) on march 15 2008 i me and my friend were walking outside and we both looked at the moon and it had a huge white ring around it. i have learned all about the moon and i have never seen anything like this!!! The clear ring around the moon is caused by the refraction of the moon light (which is, of course, the sunlight reflected by the moon surface). When the moon light passes through ice crystals in Earth's upper atmosphere, it is deviated through a process similar to the one that creates rainbows.
May 29, 2008Paul (age , ) The Greeks used different methods to calculate the distance between our planet and the Sun, moon and stars. One of the most common (and easy to explain) is using a concept called parallax. To obtain the distance D to the moon we can use two observers separated by a known distance d (for better results it should be a significant distance), and we find the angle alpha that the moon makes with one observer. Then we can apply this angle to find the distance to the moon using: D = (1/2 d) * (tangent alpha) This equation works only when the moon makes the same angle with both observers (the moon and the observers create a huge isosceles triangle), but can also be applied when the observers see the moon at different angles. In this case we use the distance from one of the observers to the vertical line from the moon to the earth. This distance is equivalent to (1/2 d) in the previous expression.
May 29, 2008Paul (age , ) The Greeks used different methods to calculate the distance between our planet and the Sun, moon and stars. One of the most common (and easy to explain) is using a concept called parallax. To obtain the distance D to the moon we can use two observers separated by a known distance d (for better results it should be a significant distance), and we find the angle á that the moon makes with one observer. Then we can apply this angle to find the distance to the moon using: D = (1/2 d) * (tangent á) This equation works only when the moon makes the same angle with both observers (the moon and the observers create a huge isosceles triangle), but can also be applied when the observers see the moon at different angles. In this case we use the distance from one of the observers to the vertical line from the moon to the earth. This distance is equivalent to (1/2 d) in the previous expression.
May 28, 2008robin (age 11, Hong Kong) why can we always see only one side of the moon? It may seem quite a coincidence that the Moon's rotation and revolution have the same period, so that the same side of the Moon is always facing us. But in fact most moons in the solar system have a similar synchronous orbit, caused by the tidal forces exerted on the moon by the planet.
May 16, 2008meagan (age 11, ) how did the moon form? The four main theories of Moon Formation are: Co-Formation (Earth & Moon formed together in place), Capture (Earth gravitationally captured the Moon), Fission (Moon split off from a fast-spinning proto-Earth), Giant Impact (Proto-Earth hit by a Mars-sized body and Moon formed from the debris).
May 16, 2008laura (age 9, engaland) what is behind the moon? I assume you are asking about the farside of the moon. As seen from Earth, the Moon is divided in two, the hemisphere we always see (nearside) and the one we do not see (farside). The farside has only been seen by space missions that have orbited the Moon. Here you can see a picture of the farside of the Moon.
May 14, 2008Ginger (age 16, United States) What are the wind speeds of the earth's moon? Our Moon does not have atmosphere, therefore there are no winds in the Moon.
May 8, 2008sharanya (age 13, karnataka(India)) Of course moon rotates once as it orbits round the earth and so we can see only one side of the moon . If we move i,e, from one side to the otherside of the earth(india to america), can we see the other side of the moon? No, we can't. Due to its sincronized motion, the moon always shows the same side to our planet, independently of where you are.
April 29, 2008Haley (age 9, North Carolina,Us) Is the moon hot or cold? Because there is no atmosphere to trap heat, the temperatures on the Moon are extreme, ranging from 100° C at noon to -173° C at night.
April 23, 2008Alvin (age 11, singapore) On certain nights,we cannot see the moon.Why is this so? One reason could be that the moon is on its NEW MOON phase, when it is showing its dark side. A different reason is simply that you had a cloudy night!
April 21, 2008Asuha (age 16, Virginia) I understand the five theories for the formation of the moon, but what I don't understand is why these theories are invalid? The four main theories of Moon Formation (and the problems each one has) are: Co-Formation (Earth & Moon formed together in place, cannot explain the lack of iron & volatiles), Capture (Earth gravitationally captured the Moon, cannot explain lack of iron & volatiles, or the identical oxygen isotope ratios), Fission (Moon split off from a fast-spinning proto-Earth, can't explain the volatiles, Giant Impact (Proto-Earth hit by a Mars-sized body and Moon formed from the debris. Currently the favored theory)
April 18, 2008Nancy (age 19, China) What is the weather like on the moon? Due to its lack of an atmosphere we can not talk of a "Moon weather" as we do here on Earth.
April 15, 2008jeffrey (age 12, colorado U.S) When would a lunar eclipse be able to be seen in colorado? The most recent total lunar eclipse seen in Colorado was the 20-21 February, 2008 (unfortunately, it was a cloudy night). The next total lunar eclipse will occur the 21st of December 2010.
April 8, 2008Amanda (age 24, Georgia) Tonight just a few min ago the moon rose up and the turned red and dissapered can u tell my why cause it is bugging me real bad. Oh yeah the moon was in a totally different spot then it usally is. Thanks While I can't give you a precise answer, I could think of reasons for what you observed. The moon could have been red due to particular atmospheric conditions (for example, the existence of particulae matter due to a fire), it could have disappeared behind clouds, and was in a different spot because the moon change its position from night to night.
April 1, 2008mariah (age 17, new york) what are some of the consequences of the tidal effects that vary during the lunar cycle? This webpage shows a good animation of the relation between the tides and the lunar cycle.
March 14, 2008rishi (age 18, india) what is umbra&penumbra There are three types of lunar eclipses. Which one we will see depends on the alignment of the three celestial objects (Sun, Earth, Moon). But first, you need to know that the Earth's shadow is broken up into two parts. The umbra is the darker part of the shadow, where no part of the Sun can been seen. The penumbra is lighter than the umbra, because part of the Sun can be seen. So, when part of the Moon passes through the umbra, this is called a partial eclipse. When all of the Moon passes through the umbra, this is called a total eclipse. Finally, when the Moon only passes through the penumbra, this is called a penumbral eclipse. Our web page Lunar Eclipses offers more information and links to other webpages of interest.
March 12, 2008estelle (age , ) This U.S. Naval Observatory webpage will give you a much more reliable source of Moon or Sun Rise/Set Table.
March 5, 2008Amanda (age 11, Canada Alberta) How many moons does the moon have? None!
March 4, 2008Gaurav (age 19, Himachal Pradesh/ INDIA) Were Americans are the first one to step on moon, or was all dat fake(area 51)? Only twelve people, all Americans, have visited our Moon: Neil Armstrong: 7/20/69. Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin: 7/20/69. Charles (Pete) Conrad 11/19/69. John Young: 4/21/72 to 4/23/72. Harrison Schmitt: 12/11/72 to 12/13/72. Eugene Cernan: 12/11/72 to 12/13/72.
February 25, 2008Michael (age 15, New Mexico, United States) Does the moon have an effect on people or animals? Although there is not much scientific evidence for a full Moon affecting emotions or behavior, it has been documented that during a full Moon, more baby animals are born than any other time during a month.
February 15, 2008Ben(Illinois) Is it true that the moon is a chunk of Earth that got broken off by an asteroid and if so,how long ago ? There are three theories about how the moon came to be in place: - that the moon came out of the crust of the Earth (possibly by a catastrophic event, like an asteroid impact), - that the moon was captured by the Earth, and - that the Earth and moon formed together out of the primordial nebula.
February 15, 2008austin (canada) why does the moon always face the erth Most likely the Moon not always showed the same side to the Earth. Because the gravitational atraction of our planet over the Moon, the Moon was deformed, providing the Earth with a "handle" to slow down the Moon's rotation. Now they are "tide locked", and we can only see one side of the Moon.
February 4, 2008sarah (USA) what is the gravity on moon? please answer quickly i need it. The acceleration of gravity on the Moon is 1/6 of the value on the Earth. Thus, if you put the same object on the Moon and weighed it, its weight would be 1/6 the weight on Earth.
January 15, 2008Akarsh (Maharashtra/India) How can there be a full moon when the Earth is in the middle of the sun and the moon, if the rays that were supposed to be reaching the moon are blocked because of the Earth? The Moon's orbit around Earth is tipped about 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun. This means that the Moon spends most of the time either above or below the plane of Earth's orbit, where the Earth's shadows lie. During Full Moon, our natural satellite usually passes above or below Earth's shadows and misses them entirely, and no eclipse takes place.
January 4, 2008stefanie (illinois/usa) what effect does the moon have to the earth? The more remarkable effects are the tides.
January 1, 2008Larissa (Canada) How old is the moon? exact age please Stars and planets (and their moons) form as a result of the gravitational collapse of accreting material of the solar nebula. So, the moon material is as old as the rest of the system, estimated to be between 4.53 and 4.58 billion years old.
January 1, 2008Glenda (USA) why don't the Earth's moon have any atmoshere? The basic answer is that our Moon, due to its low mass, doesn´t have enough gravity to keep an atmosphere.
December 19, 2007sarah There are three theories about how the moon came to be in place: - that the moon came out of the crust of the Earth - that the moon was captured by the Earth - that the Earth and moon formed together out of the primordial nebula.
December 18, 2007Jo (Florida) I i was to drop a rock in water on the moon, would it react in the same way as it does on earth? would it sink to the bottom? And would it sink at the same speed? IF there was liquid water on the moon, the rock will sink but at a slower rate due to the weaker gravity existing on the surface of the moon.
September 19, 2007Evan (New York, United States) Does the moon orbit the sun? The Moon orbits our planet, but because our planet orbits the Sun, the Moon also moves around the Sun.
September 12, 2007Lloyd The moon does not rotate relative to the earth. If earth was formed from the earth and if the moon was much closer to earth, how do we explain the presence of impact craters visable from earth? would the earth not be hit instead? There is a big differencee between our planet and its Moon, Earth has an atmosphere that protects it from most of the impacts, Moon does not. Only big and fast enough objects reach the surface of our planet, every one reaches the Moon, and because the lack of winds, their mark will stay there for a very long time.
August 21, 2007Theresa (Tn, US) How many Earths could fit between here and the moon? Was Apollo 11 the first craft that landed on the moon, if not what was and when? The average distance between Earth and Moon is approximately 30 times Earth's diameter. Luna 9, launched by the Soviet Union on February 3, 1966, performed the first successful Moon landing. The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon.
July 26, 2007bambang (indonesia) is it true that moon was splited by 2 and reunited again. if this true, can You estimate when was it happen ? I'm very gratefuly for your answer. I'm sorry my english is bad. I don't believe that is correct. We don't even know for sure how the moon came to be, there are three main theories: - that the moon came out of the crust of the Earth - that the moon was captured by the Earth - that the Earth and moon formed together out of the primordial nebula.
July 20, 2007sarah (arizone) is there a eclipes coming on the june 28,07? Two central solar and two lunar eclipses occur in 2007 as follows: 2007 Mar 03: Total Lunar Eclipse 2007 Mar 19: Partial Solar Eclipse 2007 Aug 28: Total Lunar Eclipse 2007 Sep 11: Partial Solar Eclipse Information extracted from NASA.
July 17, 2007Sarah (Australia) How does the moon affect our daily lives? Besides all the myths surrounding our only natural satellite, the tides are a good example of how the moon affect our lives.
July 17, 2007Muna (Maine) How many zeros are after 735 in 7.35e22 (mass of moon)? Because the digital point has to be moved 22 times to the right, but there are already two digits (3 and 5), 20 zeros have to be added. So, the mass of our Moon can be writen as: 73 500 000 000 000 000 000 000 kg.
July 13, 2007stacy (ont, canada) hi i was wondering if you could help me figure out why is the moon red? today on may 31st 2007. thanks so much if you could tell me what that means its weird plzs thanks. ...stacy h... I believe the answer to your question can be found in our webpage Why does the Moon have an orange color in the Fall?.
July 6, 2007 Where does the light from the moon come from? The light we see from the Moon is a mere reflection of the light from the Sun.
June 28, 2007Peggy (USA) In places of "zero gravity" or less gravity than earth, such as the moon, How do moon rocks stay on the surface and not float away? When we are on the surface we have to wear special auits and have all of our equipment and tools attached or they float away as well. The acceleration of gravity on the Moon is 1/6 of the value on the Earth. Thus, if you put the same object on the Moon and weighed it, its weight would be 1/6 the weight on Earth. A lower weight indeed, but enough to keep it from floating away.
May 5, 2007jessica (salinas) what does it mean that there is no greenhouse effect on the moon? The greenhouse effect is the process in which the emission of infrared radiation by an atmosphere warms a planet's surface. From this definition, there can't be greenhouse effect in absence of an lunar atmosphere.
May 5, 2007jessica (salinas) what does it mean that there is no greenhouse effect on the moon? The greenhouse effect is the process in which the emission of infrared radiation by an atmosphere warms a planet's surface. Frm this definition, there couldn't be greenhouse effect in absence of an lunar atmosphere.
May 5, 2007jessica (salinas) describe the lunar atmosphere? The Moon does not possesses any atmosphere, so there is no weather as we are used to on Earth. Because there is no atmosphere to trap heat, the temperatures on the Moon are extreme, ranging from 100° C at noon to -173° C at night. More information about our staellite in our web page The Earth's Moon.
April 19, 2007sheila (ILL) what are the three theories of the moon's formation? The three main theories about how the moon came to be in place are: - that the moon came out of the crust of the Earth - that the moon was captured by the Earth - that the Earth and moon formed together out of the primordial nebula
April 7, 2007marilyn (illinois, USA) Why was Galileo interested in researching the Moon? It is hard to know with exactitud Galileo's motives to study the moon, but it has been pointed by researchers (see, for example, Galileos' moon) that a new theory at the time (that Earth was NOT the center of the universe) implied the "imperfect Earth existing in the realm of the perfect heavens". Galileo's in-depth study of the moon concluded that the moon's surface consists of valleys, plains and mountains much like the surface of the Earth (Sidereus Nuncius p 48-49), far from the "perfect sphere" assumed by the geocentric theory.
April 7, 2007marilyn (illinois, USA) Which of Earth's atmospheres is the Moon found in? The Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air, which we call the atmosphere. It reaches around 600 kilometers from the surface of the Earth. The Moon is 384 403 kilometers (238,857 miles) distant from the Earth, so it is too far from the atmosphere of our planet.
January 24, 2007Sophie (Scotland) How far away is the moon from earth ??
Please & Thank you
 The Moon's average distance from the Earth is 384,467 kilometers.
January 24, 2007yazmin (california,san diego) how would a baseball game be different on the moon than it is on earth? Due to the difference in gravity (and the spacesuits), running would be much slower and the ball would go much further than on Earth.
January 24, 2007ellie (usa) why is our moon called earths natural satilite The Moon is called our planet natural satellite to differentiate it from the numerous artificial satellites on orbit around the Earth.
January 23, 2007Paige (England) Does the Moon have Gravity? The force of gravity is proportional to the mass of interacting objects and inversely proportional to the distance between them. So, to answer your question, the Moon, as any other object, has gravity, but because of its smaller size, the Moon's gravity is one-sixth of the Earth's gravity.
December 14, 2006N Tracey (Sydney, Australia) Who published the first moon map? Two very early maps of the Moon were published in the 1600s. The first by the Dutch astronomer Michael van Langren in 1645 (Plenilunii Lumina Austriaca Philippica) and the second by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hewelke, also known as Hevelius, in 1647 (Selenographia).
February 25, 2003 Dan (Alabama, USA) Where did the name Maria originate? Maria (pronounced MAH-ree-uh) is the Latin word for "seas" (singular mare, pronounced MAH-ray). When early astronomers first looked at the Moon through telescopes, they could see that the lighter areas had mountains. They assumed the Moon was like Earth, so the light areas must be land. The dark areas are smooth and flat by comparison, so they assumed those must be seas. Actually, the maria are the remains of huge asteroid impacts between 4 and 2.5 billion years ago. The impact craters filled with molten lava, which became black basalt rock as it cooled and hardened.
February 24, 2003 Amber (Ohio, USA) What does a selenographer study? A selenographer makes maps of the Moon.
February 21, 2003 Josh(New York, USA) Who discovered the moon? People have always been able to see the Moon up above. Long ago, people around the world made stories that we call myths to explain the Moon. Galileo was the first person to take a look at the Moon with a telescope and he learned so much about its surface!
February 21, 2003 Lindsay I heard that about... well, a long time ago that there had been lava seas on the moon. It isn't true, is it? Yes, it is true! Over three billion years ago lava flows formed the dark regions of the Moon called the maria.
January 30, 2003 Brenda (Illinois, USA) Who was Galileo, and what did he learn about the moon? Before Gallileo took a good look at the Moon, people in Europe assumed that the Moon was a perfect sphere. Galileo invented a telescope in 1609 that was much more powerful than all others and he looked at the Moon more closely than was ever possible before. He saw that the surface was not flat but instead pitted with craters and other features.

September 14, 2001 Heena (England) I am doing work on planets and I asked myself...is there evidence that the moon pulls the earth? Can you guys please, please, please let me know as soon as possible? Absolutely! There is evidence that the Moon pulls the Earth. The tides that we see in the oceans and seas are mainly a result of the Moon pulling on the Earth. This tidewater page should give you more information!
August 20, 2001 Nan The moons of Jupiter all have names ... what is the name of our moon? Please tell me it isn't 'The Moon'! Sorry, the Moon doesn't have another name. My guess is that our moon is called 'The Moon' because it is the first moon that we knew about. Then again, there are over 2,000 different languages on this planet, and each has its own name for what we English speakers call the Moon. I kind of like the Spanish 'Luna'!
August 6, 2001 Kim (New Jersey, USA) If we believe that the Moon formed from the Earth, how do we explain the existence of Armalcolite, which is not found on Earth? Actually, armalcolite has been found on Earth in several locations, including Smoky Butte, Montana, Greenland, Ukraine, and in South African diamond mines.

Of course, the theories on how the Moon formed are just that - theories!

July 31, 2001 Marcus (New York, USA) Is there a possible way you can play baseball on the Moon? You might be able to play baseball on the Moon, but since running would be much slower (spacesuits are pretty bulky!) and the ball, if hit, would go much further than on Earth, playing a real game might be pretty tough.
July 27, 2001 Anna (France) Does the Moon bleach colors more than the Sun? Does the Moon bleach colors at all? The light we see coming from the Moon is just sunlight reflected off the Moon, so it could (in principle) be able to bleach colors. Really, though, the light reflected from the Moon is much too faint to bleach (since the ability of sunlight to bleach depends on how bright that light is shining on our colored things).
June 15, 2001 Rodney (Oklahoma, USA)
Samantha (15, Kansas, USA)		 What was the name of the first manned vehicle to touch down on the moon? Apollo 11 was the name of the first mission to succeed in landing a person on the surface of the moon. On July 16, 1969, the U. S. rocket Saturn 5 was launched and three days later successfully deployed the lunar landing module Eagle which landed in the Moon's Sea of Tranquility.
May 9, 2001 Stephanie (New Zealand)
Mark (Minnesota, USA)		 What has Easter got to do with the Moon? When was the last time Easter was on April 15th? Christmas is always celebrated on December 25th. The date that Easter is celebrated on varies and it actually depends upon the Moon!

The "popular" rule for Christians of the Catholic and Protestant denominations (except Orthodox Christians) is that Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full Moon after the March equinox. The actual rule is a bit more compicated, but this web page does a good job explaining things. Easter was celebrated on April 15th this year. The last time Easter was celebrated on April 15th was in 1990.

November 20, 2000 Rebecca (England) What is the Earth's natural satellite called? Satellite is just another name for a moon...so, the Moon would be your answer!
October 30, 2000 Katie (California, USA) What is the radius (or the diameter) of the Moon? The Earth's one natural satellite, the Moon, is more than one quarter the size of Earth (that is 3,456 km in diameter).
October 12, 2000 Syafiq (Selangor) What's the meaning of penumbra? The penumbra refers to part of the shadow cast during an eclipse. Penumbras occur in both solar and lunar eclipses. Be sure to click on the pictures on those pages for a graphical explanation!
July 28, 2000 Catherine (California, USA) If a woman lived on the Moon, would she still menstruate? Sure, a decrease in gravity wouldn't affect any sort of physiologic process that's governed by hormone levels.
June 20, 2000 Elizabeth (Michigan, USA ) What is the mass of the Moon specifically in kilograms? The mass of the Moon is 7.35 x10^22 kilograms.
June 6, 2000 Ashley (Georgia, USA) What is the formula to figure out your weight on the moon?

Well, first of all, you need to figure out your mass. Your mass is your weight divided by the force of gravity. So hop on the scale and find your weight!

Now, divide your weight by 9.8, which is the force of gravity on Earth. The number you get is your mass. Multiply this by the force of gravity on the Moon, which is about 1.6. This number you get is your weight on the Moon!

June 2, 2000 Strife (England) Does the moon have a 'plate tectonics' effect?

Scientists believe that at one time, the Moon did have plate tectonics. However, since the Moon's formation began 4 billion years ago, it has cooled off.

In order to have plate tectonics, an object needs to have a liquid center for the plates to move upon. The Moon has cooled off to the point that there is no liquid interior.

Read more about the Moon's formation here.

June 1, 2000 Linda (North Carolina, USA) Why is the moon a greater influence on tides than the sun?

The gravitational pull exerted by other objects onto the Earth does depend on mass, but it also greatly depends on distance.

Although the Moon is much, much smaller than the Sun, it is also much, much closer. The short distance between the Earth and Moon means the Moon has a more important role in our tides.

May 15, 2000 Emma (Toronto, Canada) If we were to live on the moon could we filter in oxygen and air? Why or Why not?

Well, we could send up tanks full of air, but that is probably the best we could do. Scientists would probably use the same process used for astronauts on the space stations.

If you are thinking about connecting a hose from Earth to the Moon that would send up air, that is very, very unlikely. Such a long hose would be very difficult to build and protect.

February 9, 2000 Jamie (USA) What are the two man made structures that can be seen from the moon? Using binoculars, astronauts have spotted the Great Wall of China in space. They also saw the Aswan Dam in Egypt. To see what else is seen from space, look here.
November 29, 1999 Susan (age 30, Vermont, USA)
Melissa (Massachusetts, USA)		 A link on your site about the names of the full moons is no longer active. What are all the names of the full moons, i.e. hunter's moon? Here's another link of moon names, even better than the first!
November 29, 1999 Kirsteen (age 26, Scotland) What is the volume of the moon compared to the volume of the earth? The volume of the Moon is 2.1968x10^10 km^3, and that if the Earth 108.321x10^10 km^3. The ratio of the Earth's volume to the Moon's is 49.31.
November 29, 1999 Bonnie (British Columbia, Canada) The term eclipse is used to describe when the moon passes between the Earth and Sun but what is the term used when the moon obscures the view of other stars? When the Moon passes in front of stars, it is call an occultation. This can be fascinating to watch!
May 27, 1999 Chris (New York, USA) How strong is moonlight compared to sunlight? The moon has an albedo of 7. This means that it reflects 7% of the sun's light. Since the moon's light is only a reflection of the sun's, its maximum brightness is 7% that of the sun's.
May 12, 1999 Kirstin(New Hampshire,USA) How did the features of the moon get their names? The term maria was formed in the seventeenth century by early astronomers. In Latin it means "sea". At that time, astronomers thought they were large bodies of water.
May 12, 1999 Emily (Kansas,USA) How can you use the moon to tell time? It is possible to tell time using the Moon, although it's much easier to use the Sun. The Moon moves at a fast rate through the sky. If a reference star is chosen with a known loca tion, you can measure the angle between the Moon and that star to tell time. In the 18th century, mariners tried to use this technique. It didn't work because they couldn't measure the angle accurately, and they didn't know the exact motion of the Moon.
May 6, 1999 Destinie (Michigan, USA) What is a blood moon?Also what is the mythalogical meaning of the Blood moon? In folklore, the full moon in October was called blood moon. At this this time, hunters would find food for the winter. Blood moon was used to honor the animals killed for food. It was also marked as the time to honor ancestors with carved pumpkins and candles.
June 22, 1998 Jason (Sydney, Australia)

Ben (New Zealand)

Debbie (Arizona, USA)

 I was wondering why planets are round in shape? Especially as some of the planets are called 'gas giants'. And how come the Moon is round? The planets and the Moon are round because they are big. You see, an object's gravity tries to pull all of its material as close to its center as it can. A sphere is the best shape for this because every poi nt on a sphere's surface is as close to the center of the object as any other point on the sphere's surface. For smaller objects, like your dog or an asteroid, the internal strength of the object is stronger than its own gravitational pull, so their irre gular shape persists. Also, when the Moon and the planets formed, most of their material was really hot and somewhat molten. This made it easy for gravity to pull the planets and Moon into a spherical shape (especially the gas giants!).
June 17, 1998 Adam (Virginia, USA) Why is the earth's moon named/called moon, while other planets' moons have names? My guess is that our moon is called 'The Moon' because it is the first moon that we knew about. Then again, there are over 2,000 different languages on this planet, and each has its own name for what we English speakers call the Moon. I kind of like the Spanish 'Luna'!
May 27, 1998 Gregory Curry's 5th period Earth Science Class (Virginia, USA) What would happen to Earth if there was no Moon? The greatest effect that the Moon has on the Earth is creating the tides we experience here on Earth. So if there was no Moon, our tides would be much weaker (they wo uld probably still occur because of the Sun's gravitational pull).

Though tides would probably be the biggest scientific loss, there are other arguable points! If there was no Moon, the USA wouldn't have pulled together as a nation when man first land ed on the Moon in the late 1960's. We'd have no full moons to put in our Halloween stories or to light our path on a cloudless night. Imagine looking at the night sky without seeing the Moon - things just wouldn't be the same!
May 22, 1998 Anthony (Florida, USA) What is another word for 'moon'? Another common word scientists use for moon is 'satellite'. A satellite is defined as a celestial body orbiting another larger body. So when people say I'm going to look at the satellites of Jupiter tonight using my telescope, they probably mean the y are going to look at the moons of Jupiter.
May 19, 1998 Raza (Pakistan) What are the different effects of the Moon on the Earth? The largest impact of the Moon on the Earth is through tidal forces. The Moon's gravitational pull does indeed pull on the bodies of water on the Earth, creating high and low tides. Land doesn't move as easily as water, but in some places the Earth's surface does rise and fall 1-2 inches because of the Moon's gravitational pull.

Finally, I've heard many people blame hyperactivity or just anomolous behavior in general on a full Moon. I don't know that there is much scientific evidence for a full Moon affecting emotions or behavior, but I do know that during a full Moon, some strange things go on...for instance, it has been documented that during a full Moon, more baby animals are born than any other time during a month. You decide!

February 20, 1998 Aaron (Michigan, USA) What kind of a telescope must be used in order to see, if possible, the American Flag placed on the moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts? The Hubble Space Telescope can see farther with more clarity than any other telescope, but I don't think even the Hubble can see such tiny detail as the flag on the moon.
January 9, 1998 Nichole (Connecticut, USA) In the future, could we ever live on the moon? It sure seems like a possibility! In fact many people hope that a colony will be set up in the next century. This lunar colony would support astronomical and mining activities. I've heard the colony already referred to as Moon Town.
January 2, 1998 Eleni (Sydney, Australia) How long does it take to get to the Moon? That really depends on what type of spacecraft you're traveling in and how fast that spacecraft can go. Let's look at the Apollo 11 spacecraft as an example. Apollo 11 was launched frOm the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 16, 1969. It reached the Moon in 4 days, 6 hours, and about 45 minutes. So you could be there and back for a lunar vacation if you had a two week vacation from school!
January 2, 1998 Marina (Massachusetts, USA) Has anyone ever fallen into a crater on the Moon? Not that I know of! But Alan Shepard, Jr. was the first to hit a golf ball on the Moon. He did this in 1971 when he was the commander of Apollo 14!
November 26, 1997 Alex (Denver, Colorado, USA) How many women have walked on the Moon? So far, no women have walked on the Moon. If you want to see some ways women have been involved in the U.S. space program see Nicole's essay.
November 25, 1997 Alan (Kansas, USA) What is the weight of the moon? It is .16 trillion, trillion pounds!

Last modified March 4, 2008 by Eduardo Araujo-Pradere.

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA