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3 months agoThe Moon is Earth’s only permanent natural satellite. It is the fifth largest natural satellite in the Solar System, and the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits. The Moon is the second densest satellite among those whose densities are known anyway. The first densest is Jupiter’s satellite The Moon always shows Earth the same face, the Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth. Its near side is marked by large dark plains (volcanic ‘maria’) that fill the spaces between the bright ancient crustal The Moon’s surface is actually dark Although compared to the night sky itappears very bright, with a reflectance just slightly higher than that of worn asphalt. Its gravitational influence produces the ocean tides, body tides, and the slight lengthening of the day. The Sun and the Moon are not the same size From Earth, both the Sun and the Moon look about same size. In fact the Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun, but also 400 times closer to Earth. The Moon is drifting away from the Earth The Moon is moving approximately 3.8 cm away from our planet every year. 7. The Moon was made when a rock smashed into Earth The most widely-accepted explanation is that the Moon was created when a rock the size of Mars slammed into Earth, shortly after the solar system began forming about 4.5 billion years ago.