properties of the moon and how it moves butler middle school 8th grade science bob, paul, ms. adams,...
TRANSCRIPT
Properties of the Moon and how it moves
Butler Middle School
8th Grade Science
Bob, Paul, Ms. Adams, Nov 14, 2012
8th Grade Science
Visiting the Moon• There have been many visits to the moon from
earth– Most famous occurred between 1969-1972
– During this time there were 6 successful missions in which humans explored the surface and safely returned to earth
– Also, during the past 50-60 years there have been many un-manned, data collection missions
Moon compared to Earth
Diameter of earth = 4 x diameter of moon (8000 miles) (2000 miles)
Earth is about 86 x more massive than the moon
Gravity on moon is 1/6 of earths gravity60 pound dog on earth would weigh 10 pounds on moon
Moon compared to Earth (cont.)
• Moon is 240,000 miles from Earth
• Moon has no atmosphere
• Water was discovered on moon recently– Scientists believe some primitive life forms
may lie beneath the surface
Moon compared to Earth (cont.)
• Moon is very hot in sun, very cold in shade– Water would quickly boil in sun and quickly freeze in
shade
• Like the earth, the moon is illuminated by the sun– we see the moon because of reflected sun light
• Moon’s Surface is solid and dusty– many craters caused by the impact of meteoroids– mountains and highlands– low areas which are dark, called maria (Latin for seas)
Motion of the Moon
• Moon revolves around the earth– Once per 27.3 days
• Moon rotates slowly on its axis every 27.3 days
• Therefore, we only see one side of the moon from earth
Earth and Moon from 31,000,000 miles
This amazing sequence of photos shows rotation of earth and motion of moon around earth
1
43
2