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Astronomy: the Moon
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You may think of the Moon as our twin planet. Compared to other moons it is relatively large and has a big impact on our life. We first saw the back of the Moon in 1959. Luna 3 took 17 pictures and we discovered the Moon has no mares formed by lave on the back. On the frontside she has mares and craters. Because the Moon has no atmosphere she misses the protection from meteorites. On the back of the Moon a 2500 kilometer crater has been spotted. Because of the Earth's tides the rotation of our planet slows down. And our Moon therefore slowly moves away: 3,8 centimeters every year. When the Moon formed from Earth, it was ten timers closer to Earth then now. And back then one day on Earth had only six hours. The Moon is just as our solar system about 4,6 billion years old. Astronauts on the Apollo 15 mission brought back a 4,5 billion years old rock, which confirmed the theory that the Moon once had a hot lava surface. When the surface cooled down light materials emerged to the surface. Finding this material on the surface in August 1971 was an important succes. FactsRelated subjects>> Origin of the Moon>> Earth >> Meteorites >> American Ranger missions >> American Surveyor missions >> American Apollo missions >> Russian Luna missions >> Russian Zond missions |
  Moon eclipse on 3 March 2007 in The Netherlands. The Earth's shadow slowly moves over the Moon's surface. < JPG-image 1024 X 768 pixels >  At 23:45 PM, the Sun was completely behind Earth. The reddish glow is from the sunlight that bounces via Earth's atmosphere onto the Moon. < JPG-image 1024 X 768 pixels > |
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