Fun and Interesting Facts About Moon

• The average distance between Earth and its moon is about 238,900 miles (384,000 kilometers).
• The diameter of the moon is 2,160 miles (3,476 kilometers).
• The mass of moon is 7.15 x 1022 kg. It is about one-eightieth that of the Earth.
• The surface gravity of the moon is only one-sixth that of Earth.
• The time taken by moon to complete one rotation and one revolution is the same - about 27.3 days. This is why, from Earth, we always see the same side of the moon.
• The moon orbits Earth at an average speed of 2,300 miles an hour (3,700 kilometers an hour).
• The moon's gravitational pull on Earth is the reason behind the phenomenon of rise and fall of ocean tides.
• There is no water and no air on moon.
• From earth, only 59 percent of moon's surface is visible.
• The dark spots that can be seen on moon are nothing, but craters filled with basalt, a very dense material.
• The moon is the only extraterrestrial body to have been visited by humans. It is also the only body from which samples have been taken.
• The first artificial object to impact the lunar surface was Luna 2.
• Luna 3 (built by the Soviet Union) was the first space craft to send back pictures from the moon, in October 1959.
• There is no global magnetic field on moon.
• In 1966, Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to perform a successful lunar soft landing.
• The first unmanned vehicle to orbit the Moon was sent in 1966, under the name Luna 10.
• Unlike the moons (natural satellites) of other planets, the moon of the Earth has no proper English name, other than "the Moon".
• The surface of the Moon is covered with craters, basins, and cratered highlands, called terrae.
• The soil that covers the Moon is composed of rock fragments and fine dust grains. It is known by the name of 'regolith'.
• The density of moon is 3.34 g/cm3.
• The temperature on moon ranges from -171 deg C to 111 deg C.
• The total atmospheric mass of moon is less than 10⁴ kg.
• Lunar eclipses occur near a full moon, when the Earth is between Sun and Moon.
• During its brightest phase i.e. at "full moon", moon has an apparent magnitude of about −12.6.
• Moon is neither round, nor spherical. Rather, it has the shape of an egg