6 main CHARACTERISTICS of the MOON

Moon It is the most studied celestial object, apart from Earth, in the last 50 years. Since 1963, when the Apollo mission reached the surface of our satellite and especially, since 1969, the first manned mission was launched and the human being stepped on the moon for the first time,; A multitude of data has been collected that has answered many questions that scientists have asked over the centuries. In this lesson from a TEACHER we explain which are the main characteristics of the moon so you can know it in depth.

Knowing the way in which the formation of the Moon took place and what its history has been over time allows us to explain most of the characteristics that we observe in our natural satellite. Before seeing, then, what are the characteristics of the Moon, we will briefly see what the formation process was and what its evolution has been since then.

The origin of the Moon: a violent clash between Earth and Tea

The Moon formed 4.510 million years ago It is thus almost as old as the Earth itself. Its formation occurred as a result of the cataclysm caused by

the clash between Earth and a protoplanet named Tea, which was about half the size of Earth.

The brutal impact vaporized the body that had impacted (Tea) and much of the Earth's crust and mantle. The remnants of this impact they created a rock and metal atmosphere around the Earth It was spinning at a different speed than the planet itself.

The centrifugal force of rotating objects resulted in the creation of a superstructure called synesthesia. A synesthesia is an object formed by hot vapors of metal and rock in the shape of a donut (the geometric name of this structure is Tor). Inside synesthesia the temperature reached 1000ºC.

Through the years, the synesthesia arising from the impact cooled and inside it the heaviest materials were condensing, forming larger and larger agglomerates. until giving rise to the moon.

Impacts on solid surface

Makes 4.4 billion years, the Moon already had a solid surface, at a time when there was a large amount of solid debris wandering through space from the formation of the Solar system. These roaming objects easily impacted the surface of still-hot planets and moons, leaving impact marks on the surface.

At a later stage, about 4,100 years ago, the Moon suffered a rock and ice meteor shower of all the sizes that created the impact craters larger than we see on the Moon today.

The formation process and the violent "infancy" of our satellite explain its composition and structure, as well as the characteristics of its rugged surface.

Let's get into the matter now to know the characteristics of the Moon. We will analyze different aspects of our natural satellite so that you can better understand its nature.

Structure

The Moon, like the Earth, is composed of a core, a mantle and a crust.

• The nucleus it is relatively small in size and made up of several layers. In the innermost zone there is a solid inner core rich in iron minerals. This inner core is made up of iron-rich minerals. Above the inner core is a layer of molten iron and above this molten layer is another only partially molten layer that forms the outermost layer of the core.
• The mantle extends from the outermost layer of the nucleus to the lower limit of the crust and is composed of molten minerals such as olivine and pyroxenes, which contain elements such as magnesium, iron, oxygen, and silicon.
• The crust lunar, is composed of solid minerals that contain oxygen, silicon, magnesium, calcium and aluminum, in addition to small amounts of titanium, uranium, thorium, potassium and hydrogen.

Shape and size of the Moon

We continue to analyze the characteristics of the Moon to know, now, its size and shape. The Moon is a satellite of approximately spherical with a radius of 1,740 km. If we compare its size with that of the Earth, our planet is more than seven times bigger than its satellite. It is therefore a moon of considerable size: it is the fifth largest satellite Of the solar system.

This large satellite is of vital importance to the Earth, since the presence of the Moon helps to stabilize the rotational movements of the planet avoiding oscillatory movements. This stability in the movement of the Earth provided by the Moon is one of the factors that contribute to the stability of the climate.

Rotational and translational movements

The rotational and translational movements of the Moon are in sync with those of the Earth. The rotation of the Moon and its translation have a duration of 27 days. In other words, the Moon takes the same time to make a complete revolution on itself as it does to complete its orbit around the Earth.

For this reason, from our planet it is only possible to observe one of the faces of the Moon, while the other remains always hidden. Also, observed from Earth, the Moon is one of the brightest objects of the night sky and goes through various phases depending on the part of its visible face that is illuminated by the Sun.

Composition of the Moon

The Moon is composed of the same elements as Earth but its composition is not exactly the same. One of the main differences is that the rocks on the Moon contain very few volatile elements. That is, few compounds that can evaporate at high temperatures.

This composition of lunar rocks is explained by the high temperature conditions in which the Moon formed. The Moon, in its beginnings, had a surface formed by a sea of ​​magma (molten rock and metal). In this sea of ​​magma the heaviest materials were precipitating to the depths, while the lighter substances floated on the surface and that they were solidifying as the Moon cooled more and more.

The lunar surface abounds with a type of igneous rocks (rock formed by cooling magma) called anorthosites. These rocks contain large proportions of a light mineral, plagioclast; and very few amounts of heavier minerals. These rocks were formed by the solidification of slags that floated on the surface of the magma.

Moon surface

We continue to know the characteristics of the Moon to speak, now, of its surface. Most of the lunar surface is filled with craters and holes. Product of impacts from the rock and ice meteor shower that impacted the surface for thousands of years.

For a long time the origin of craters and lunar holes was debated. Some scientists believed that they had their origin in volcanic activity, while others thought that they were craters formed by the impact of meteorites. Analysis of rock samples collected at the bottom of lunar craters showed that these craters were formed by the impact of meteorites, when the surface of the Moon had already solidified. Thus, the many craters on the Moon tell us of extremely violent early stages. in which the Moon received numerous impacts from the abundant objects that populated it space.

The surface of the Moon is covered by a layer of non-compacted material, made up of fragments of rocks and minerals. It is a fine grayish powder called lunar regolith resting on solid rock and giving the Moon its characteristic grayish color.

Presence of water on the Moon

Although it was initially believed that the Moon contained no water on its surface, recent data has shown that this is not the case. Initially it was detected water in the form of ice at the poles of the planet, in the so-called cold traps, which are areas of permanent darkness and, recently, the SOFIA telescope in 2020 has detected the presence of water on the lunar surface in illuminated areas, in quantities greater than what was expected.

The discovery of water on the Moon opens up new possibilities for the establishment of a permanent lunar base.