Moon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about Earth's natural satellite. For moons in general, see natural satellite. For
other uses, see Moon (disambiguation).

Moon Moon symbol

FullMoon2010.jpg

Full moon as seen from Earth's Northern Hemisphere

Designations

Adjectives

Lunar selenic

Orbital characteristics

Perigee 362600 km

(356400370400 km)

Apogee 405400 km

(404000406700 km)

Semi-major axis

384399 km (0.00257 AU)[1]

Eccentricity 0.0549[1]

Orbital period

27.321661 d

(27d 7h 43min 11.5s[1])

Synodic period

29.530589 d

(29d 12h 44min 2.9s)

Average orbital speed

1.022 km/s

Inclination 5.145 to the ecliptic[2][a]

Longitude of ascending node

Regressing by one revolution in 18.61 years

Argument of perigee

Progressing by one revolution in 8.85 years

Satellite of Earth[b][3]

Physical characteristics

Mean radius

1737.1 km (0.273 of Earth's)[1][4][5]

Equatorial radius

1738.1 km (0.273 of Earth's)[4]

Polar radius

1736.0 km (0.273 of Earth's)[4]

Flattening 0.0012[4]

Circumference 10921 km (equatorial)

Surface area

3.793107 km2 (0.074 of Earth's)

Volume 2.19581010 km3 (0.020 of Earth's)[4]

Mass 7.3421022 kg (0.012300 of Earth's)[1][4]

Mean density

3.344 g/cm3[1][4]

0.606 Earth

Surface gravity

1.62 m/s2 (0.1654 g)[4]

Moment of inertia factor

0.39290.0009[6]

Escape velocity

2.38 km/s

Sidereal rotation period

27.321661 d (synchronous)

Equatorial rotation velocity

4.627 m/s
Axial tilt

1.5424 to ecliptic

6.687 to orbit plane[2]

Albedo 0.136[7]

Surface temp. min mean max

Equator 100 K 220 K 390 K

85N 150 K 230 K[8]

Apparent magnitude

2.5 to 12.9[c]

12.74 (mean full moon)[4]

Angular diameter

29.3 to 34.1 arcminutes[4][d]

Atmosphere[9]

Surface pressure

107 Pa (1 picobar) (day)

1010 Pa (1 femtobar) (night)[e]

Composition by volume

He Ar Ne Na K H Rn

The Moon is an astronomical body that orbits planet Earth, being 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 (its primary). Following
Jupiter's satellite Io, the Moon is second-densest satellite among those whose densities are
known.

The Moon is thought to have formed about 4.51 billion years ago, not long after Earth. The most
widely accepted explanation is that the Moon formed from the debris left over after a giant
impact between Earth and a Mars-sized body called Theia.

The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth, always showing the same face, with its near
side marked by dark volcanic maria that fill the spaces between the bright ancient crustal
highlands and the prominent impact craters. As seen from the Earth, it is the second-brightest
regularly visible celestial object in Earth's sky, after the Sun. Its surface is actually dark, although
compared to the night sky it appears 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 Moon's average orbital distance at the present time is 384,402 km (238,856 mi),[10][11] or
1.28 light-seconds. This is about thirty times the diameter of Earth, with its apparent size in the
sky almost the same as that of the Sun (due to it being 400x farther and larger), resulting in the
Moon covering the Sun nearly precisely in total solar eclipse. This matching of apparent visual
size will not continue in the far future, because the Moon's distance from Earth is slowly
increasing.

The Soviet Union's Luna programme was the first to reach the Moon with uncrewed spacecraft
in 1959; the United States' NASA Apollo program achieved the only crewed missions to date,
beginning with the first crewed lunar orbiting mission by Apollo 8 in 1968, and six crewed lunar
landings between 1969 and 1972, with the first being Apollo 11. These missions returned lunar
rocks which have been used to develop a geological understanding of the Moon's origin, internal
structure, and later history. Since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, the Moon has been visited only
by uncrewed spacecraft.

Within human culture, both the Moon's natural prominence in the earthly sky, and its regular
cycle of phases as seen from the Earth have provided cultural references and influences for
human societies and cultures since time immemorial. Such cultural influences can be found in
language, lunar based calendar systems, art, and mythology.