The moon is the closest cosmic body to us, the most visible object in the night sky. It is not surprising that it is also the most studied and the only one on the surface of which a human foot has set foot. However, it cannot be said that everything is known about the Moon. She still hasn't revealed some of her secrets. Some interesting facts about the moon have a generally accepted explanation, but periodically receive an alternative interpretation.
Characteristics of the night luminary
The moon is the only satellite of our planet. It makes one revolution around the Earth in about 27.32 days. In this case, the satellite orbit has a somewhat elongated shape. The average distance that separates us from the night star is a little less than 400 thousand kilometers. The most significant facts about the moon for children are, perhaps, the change of phases and the fact that you can fly to it. Adult amateur astronomers of all times and peoples were interested in its origin, influence on the weather of the Earth and on the fate of people.
Legends of the Moon
The satellite of the Earth is the hero of many myths. Some of them explain the appearance of the Moon in the sky, the other tells what caused the phase change. Almost all peoples, among others, honored the personification of the moon, god or goddess. In Greek mythology, it was primarily Selene, whose name was subsequently given to the science that studies the Earth's satellite (selenology).
Legends about the Moon, explaining why it is either full or turns into a month, were often associated with tragic events in the life of the luminary. Among the B alts, the formidable thunder god Perkunas punished the Moon for betraying the beautiful Sun, cutting it into pieces. In Siberia, a myth is known about how the night star descended to Earth and was caught by an evil sorceress. The sun tried to snatch the moon from the hands of the witch, but as a result, it was torn into two parts.
There were also numerous stories that explained the well-marked spots on the face of the luminary. For some peoples, this is a man exiled as a punishment, for others, a beast living on the moon.
Amazing coincidence
Many legends explain solar eclipses. Today, when listing interesting facts about the Moon, its role in this phenomenon is often omitted as well-known. Nevertheless, it is the eclipse that clearly demonstrates one curious moment: the combination of the distance from the Sun to the Moon and from the night star to the Earth and the size of the Moon seem to be specially selected. If the incarnation of the ancient Greek Selena was located a little further or closer, or if its size were different, we would either not know what a total eclipse is, or we would not be able to admire the solarcrown. The moon "hangs" in such a way that the daylight periodically fits completely behind it, showing only a beautiful frame.
Moreover, the numerical values of the parameters are also surprising: the distance from the Earth to the Moon is, as already noted, about 400 thousand kilometers, and this is 400 times less than to the Sun, and the night luminary itself is inferior to the daytime one in size too 400 times. These facts about the moon are often used as evidence for the theory of its artificial origin.
Hypothesis
A similar opinion was expressed in the 60s of the last century by Mikhail Vasin and Alexander Shcherbakov, Soviet scientists. They supported their theory with information that all the craters, covering the surface of the satellite in a huge number, with different areas, have approximately the same depth - no more than three kilometers. This may be due to the presence of a solid structure located under the surface of the night star.
Today, in various articles on the net, the hypothesis of the artificial origin of the satellite is included in a list called "Secret Facts about the Moon." However, the theory that assumes an “earthly beginning” is currently considered generally accepted. According to her, about 4.5 billion years ago, our planet collided with a space object similar in size to Mars. He knocked out a piece of matter, which later became a satellite. However, the final point has not yet been made in the dispute: the available information is not yet enough to confidently assert that everything happened in this way.
Colorful
One of the American astronauts,For the first time, looking at the Moon from the porthole of a spacecraft, he compared its surface to sand on a dirty beach. From the Earth, the satellite does not look so dull. Interesting facts about the moon are related to its visible color.
Most of the time, the month is ash gray, but there are cases in history when a blue moon appeared in the sky. Color is associated with the appearance of an additional "filter" that prevents the passage of light rays. This is possible during extensive fires or volcanic eruptions. Large particles compared to air molecules allow light waves to scatter, along their length corresponding to the blue color and its shades. Such a case was recorded in 1950, when, as a result of a fire on peat bogs over Albert (province in Canada), the moon hung blue.
Two Full Moons
The expression "blue moon" has another meaning. Since the night star goes through all the phases in less than 28 days, sometimes two full moons fall in one month. The second one was called the "blue moon". The phenomenon is observed a little less than once every 2.72 years. The next one will be in July 2015: the first full moon is on the 2nd, and the blue moon is on the 31st.
Bloody
The most interesting thing about the Moon and its color in the coming year can be found by looking at the sky on April 4 and September 28. The blood moon will rise these days. The satellite acquires such an ominous shade due to the refraction of the rays of the Sun in the Earth's atmosphere. The glow of the moon, in principle, is always the reflected radiation of the daylight. The difference these days is that the full moon coincides withsunset or sunrise. Red is the same color, "dressed" in which the daylight appears before us, falling below the horizon or rising above it.
Double reflected
One more phenomenon, not uncommon, but interesting, is connected with the emitted light. Everyone has known about the Moon since childhood: it successively goes through 4 phases and only in one of them, on the full moon, you can admire the fully illuminated satellite. However, it also happens that a month hangs in the sky, and the entire disk is visible and sometimes quite clearly. This is the so-called ashen light of the moon. The phenomenon occurs either some time before the new moon, or shortly after it. The satellite, illuminated only in a small part, is nevertheless fully visible, since part of the sunlight is first scattered in the earth's atmosphere, then falls on the surface of the moon, and then is again reflected on our planet.
According to the features of the satellite's ashen light, forecasts are made about changing weather conditions. The possibility of predictions exists due to the connection of an optical phenomenon with the nature of the cloudiness on that part of the Earth that is currently illuminated by the Sun. In European Russia, bright ashy light, which is the result of reflections of rays from cyclonic activity in the Atlantic, portends precipitation in about a week.
On and on
Interesting facts about the Moon are not limited to optical phenomena. Another curious point is connected with its remoteness from the Earth. Satellite every yeargetting further and further away from our planet. For twelve months, the distance increases by 4 cm. The removal of the satellite is a consequence of the gravitational-tidal interaction between it and our planet. The moon, as you know, causes tides on Earth, not only on the water, but also in the crust, less noticeable in amplitude, but with a much longer wavelength. They, in turn, affect the satellite: due to some features of the rotation of the Moon around the Earth and our planet around its axis, tidal waves are somewhat ahead of the satellite. As a result, the entire mass of the Earth, which is enclosed in such waves, affects the movement of the satellite, attracting it and forcing it to revolve around the planet faster. This is the reason for the change in the orbit of the Moon, its distance from the Earth.
Blessed memory
There was a time when scientists, due to a lack of data, had little understanding of what the Moon was. The unknown facts of that period have ceased to be a secret thanks to the successful flights of spacecraft with astronauts on board. However, those studying the satellite were not always lucky. Part of the astronauts died in the process of preparing for flights. He erected a tiny monument on the Moon, only 8 cm high. Attached is a list of all the astronauts who gave their lives in the name of science.
Eternity
Both this monument and the footprints of astronauts who walked on the surface of the Moon, as well as a photo of relatives left by one of the crew members, will remain intact on the Moon for many centuries. The satellite of our planet has no atmosphere, there is no wind and water. Nothing is notcan cause traces of human presence to quickly turn to dust.
Near future
NASA is making ambitious plans for the development of the satellite. In 2010, the Avatar project appeared, involving the creation of special robots equipped with a human telepresence function. If the project is implemented, scientists will not need to fly to the moon. To study its features, it will be enough to put on a special remote presence suit, and all the necessary manipulations will be performed by a robot delivered to the satellite.
Earth view
The moon is always turned to us by the same side. The reason for this is the synchronization of the movement of the satellite in orbit and its rotation around the Earth. One of the most memorable sights that the American astronauts saw when they stepped on the surface of the Moon was the view of the Earth. Our planet occupies a significant part of the satellite's sky. Moreover, the Earth hangs motionless, always in the same place, but one or the other side of it is visible. Over time, as a result of the same gravitational-tidal interaction, the rotation of our planet around its axis is synchronized with the movement of the Moon in orbit. The satellite will “hang”, stop moving across the sky, the Earth will “look” at it with only one side. At the same time, the distance separating the two space bodies will stop increasing.
These are 10 interesting facts about the moon. The list, however, is not exhaustive. The interest in the satellite, which has arisen again in recent years, will still bear fruit, and the already available facts about the Moon, partially mentioned inarticle will be replenished.
It is likely that one of them will be a base on the moon, which is planned to be created for the development of minerals, observation of earth processes and, of course, the satellite itself.
