THE CHEESE IS NOT THE MOON

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Running Head: THE CHEESE IS NOT THE MOON.

The Cheese is not the Moon Astronomy April 8, 2011

The Earths Moon is its only natural satellite, and is the fifth largest satellite in the solar system. There are a few different theories about how the Moon was originated. The Moon has a geochemically distinct crust, mantle and core. It has not changed much since humans first started

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observing it. Recent findings show that there are up to 300mil metric tons of water ice may exist in craters at the lunar poles. One of the hardest things to explain is the small amount of iron in the Moon when Earths core is made up of 32% iron (Moon, 2008). The Moon does not have a real protective atmosphere. The atmosphere has a few elements that have been found on other planets including potassium and sodium. Radioactive decay in the surface rocks produces helium and argon. With the mixture of solar wind gasses mostly hydrogen and helium these gasses make up the atmosphere. Elements like oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen are not found in the atmosphere and not really understood as to why. The lunar plains that can be seen with the naked eye are called maria (Latin for seas). Ancient astronomers believed they were filled with water. Actually liquid water cannot persist on the lunar surface. Water quickly decomposes because of solar radiation. The dark maria parts of the Moon are less reflective than the highlands of the Moon. They are known now to be solidified pools of ancient basaltic lava. The mare basalts of the Moon contain more iron making them appear darker and completely lack minerals altered by water. Maria on the Moon is found mostly on the side that faces with hardly any on the opposite side. The largest landforms on the Moon are impact basins. Impact basins are circular depressions typically surrounded by two or more mountainous rings. The Moons deeply fractured crust created by the collision of an asteroid many years ago provided conduits sor volcanic material to erupt onto the basin floors. An impact basin named Nectaris is about 535 miles in diameter. The whole floor of Nectaris was not covered by lava spewing up. The most dramatic ring of Nectaris is called the Altai Scarp. The Altai Scarp is a 2 2 mile drop that defines the Western edge of the basin (Wood, 2008).

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The Moon has been pelted with comets and asteroids over the millions of years it has existed, creating the craters some people enjoy looking at. Not all of these craters however were caused just by asteroids and comets; some were created by the rimless volcanic pits. Secondary craters can happen a lot also from debris of the asteroids and comets hitting the surface of the Moon. There is an estimated 300,000 craters on the Moons near side alone wider than 1 km. The lack of atmosphere and weather has greatly helped to preserve many of the craters on the Moons surface. The Moons age is hard for researchers to figure out because of the craters on the surface (Wood, 2009). The Fission theory states that the Moon was once a part of Earth but broke away because of rapid rotation, happening after the iron sank into earths core. The hardest thing to understand about this theory is why would the Earth spin so fast, about on e rotation every four hours (J.D., 2010). The Binary accretion theory states that the Moon formed in orbit about the Earth but not of material drawn from the Earth. Both bodies according to this theory formed about the same time out of the same cloud of material. The only argument in this theory is why would there have been so much less iron in the Moon than the Earth (J.D., 2010). The third theory is the Capture theory. This theory is interesting to me; it states the Moon was captured by the Earth during a close encounter. The speeds of the Moon and Earth would have needed to be dissipated somehow and nothing has been discovered proving this. Another thing about this theory is how the Moons chemical composition so close to Earths. If the Moon was created somewhere else in the solar system the composition would be completely different (J.D., 2010). The last theory is the most accepted one, the giant impact theory. This one proposes the Moon formed from debris expelled from the Earth when it was hit by a body about as massive as Mars. It is believed that the impact vaporized most of the impacting body and some

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of Earths crust and mantle (J.D., 2010). Some asteroids and comets that have collided into the Moon are believed to have sent chunks of moon rock down to Earth (Eberhart, 1984). The Moon takes 29.53 days for it to go through its complete cycle of phases. The phase of the Moon or lunar phase is the appearance of the lit up portion of the Moon as seen by an observer on Earths surface. One half of the lunar surface is always illuminated by the sun. The first lunar cycle is the new Moon; this is when we cannot see the Moon because it is between the Earth and the Sun. The second is the waxing crescent Moon this is when the Moon drifts to the east of the Sun. The first quarter Moon is after the waxing crescent we can only see a quarter of the Moon at this time. The waxing gibbous Moon is where the Moon keeps getting fuller and moves farther away from the Sun. Around mid-month is when we observe the full Moon. The Moon has traveled half way around the Earth since the new Moon and sits directly opposite of the Sun. Each night after the full Moon phase the Moon rises about an hour later than the night before. This is the waning gibbous phase, the Moon is traveling back to the Sun. The last quarter Moon is right before the waning crescent Moon. The Moon seems to disappear quite quickly during the waning crescent Moon phase. Finally the last phase is the same as the first phase. The new phase, the Moon passes in front of the Sun causing an annual solar eclipse (Chaple, 2003). It was recently discovered that the Moon phases actually have an impact on Earths weather. Satellite measurements reveal now that a full moon is warming the Polar Regions of the Earth. Researchers have now found that the polar warming is 25 times the global average during a full Moon. Researchers also suggest the clear polar air might allow more light in from the full Moon. The findings have only been found for the Polar Regions and surprises scientists that the

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tropics are not affected by the full Moon. With the Moon lying closer to the tropics they should be influenced by the Moon more. These finding have not been completely verified by ground based temperature studies only satellite (Earths Poles). Eclipses involving the Earth and Moon happen when one of them enters into the shadow of the other. The Sun, Earth and the Moon have to be perfectly aligned for an eclipse to happen. Lunar eclipses occur near a full Moon and solar eclipses occur near a new Moon. A total eclipse is caused by the Sun being completely covered by the Moon. Total solar eclipses are rare events. On average they happen about every 18 months on some part of Earth. The Earth and Moon are different sizes so their umbral shadows are very different in length and size. Tides are natural phenomenons involving the alternating rise and fall of the seas on Earth. Tides are caused by the gravitational effects of the Sun and Moon, the combination of these two influences produces the reoccurring cycle of tides on Earth (Tides, 2009). Whenever one object is gravitationally attracted to another various parts of the object are affected. The Moons gravity causes the earth to feel tidal forces. It is not just water that is being pulled by the gravity of the Moon but the Earths surface itself. The tidal forces on Earths surface are not great enough to see but the tilt affected by this can be determined by careful measurement of the stars. The Moon ever so slightly slows Earths rotation, giving us about 1 milliseconds every century (Tyson, 2006). The Moons orbit around the Earth is elliptical. The distance from the Earth to the Moon can vary from 356,400 km to 406,700 km. The orbit of the Moon lies almost in the ecliptic with the angle between Earth and the Moon only being about 5 degrees. The Moon does not orbit in the equatorial plane of Earth. Instead the plane of the Moons orbit is much closer to Earths

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ecliptic plane. This means the Moon passes through Earths ecliptic twice during each orbit around. The Moon does not orbit Earth however, The Moon and Earth orbit the Sun together. The Moon is about 27% of the size of Earth. That equals a diameter of 3476 km. The Moon is a wondrous celestial body that holds many secrets that man has been trying to solve for decades. Not only is it beautiful, but it holds many wondrous secrets that are still being discovered today. So the next time you look up at the moon remember what you have read here today.

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Bibliography

Chaple, G. (2003). Phase transitions. Astronomy, 31(5), 22. Retrieved April 8, 2011 from EBSCOhost.

Eberhart, J. J. (1984). More meteorites from earth's moon?. Science News, 126(5), 70. Retrieved April 8, 2011 from EBSCOhost.

J.D. F. (2010). Astronomy: Journey to the Cosmic Frontier. Retrieved April 8, 2011 from City: McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.

Tyson, N. (2006). When the Moon Hits Your Eye. Natural History, 115(3), 34. Retrieved April 8, 2011 from EBSCOhost.

Wood, C. (2008). Counting Craters. Sky & Telescope, 116(1), 69. Retrieved April 8, 2011 from EBSCOhost.

Wood, C. A. (2009, January). Revelations in a Shallow Sea. Sky & Telescope. p. 67. Retrieved April 8, 2011 from EBSCOhost.

The Moon. (2008). World Almanac & Book of Facts, 335. Retrieved April 8, 2011 from EBSCOhost.

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Tides and Their Causes. (2009). World Almanac & Book of Facts, 747. Retrieved April 8, 2011 from EBSCOhost.