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The moon an incredible spectacle to see, to think that for centuries civilizations mapped the path of this rock sometimes in worship while other times in fear. Even as our civilization advanced it captured the imagination of our smartest minds. We’d like to go over what we found to be the most interesting facts about the moon it’s some of which inspired us to create the original moon lamp.
1. The moon’s gravity affects the earth’s tides.
Most people don’t think much about how or why the tides rise and fall. One minute you’re basking in the sun’s rays the next your knee deep minnows and seashells. This reaction of the ocean is actually caused by the gravitational pull of the moon. As the moon rotates around our deep blue planet the side closest to the moon bulges out the water creating what we know to be high tide. This is what they call tidal force, think about that the next time you swim!
2. There is no dark side for the moon
That’s right, cue the Pink Floyd! While the dark side of the moon was thought to be completely void of light for centuries a Russian probe proved that to be false in 1959 –confirmed 10 years later by the US team. It’s not the easiest thing to validate since we actually had to go up there and look at the other side to see for ourselves.
3. The moon is slowly moving away from us
I wouldn’t say your goodbyes just yet, the moon is slowly drifting away from us. No, it’s not something we said or did, just the natural progression of the universe. Every year the moon is slightly drifting away at the pace of 3.8 cm. It’s currently thought that it will continue to this for the next 50 billion years or so. By this time it will take the moon 47 days to orbit the earth, nearly twice as much as it does today… I wonder if the Mayans knew? Thankfully our levitating moon lamp stays put in place after each rotation.
4. The moon has quakes
Maybe this has more to do with our own planet; the moon was once part of the earth in its younger days. So naturally, it sometimes reacts like it’s former creation. The moon happens to be effected from the gravitational pull from the earth, similar to our first point in how the moon impacts our tides and ocean, our impact on the moon is a little less forgiving. Lunar astronauts have used seismographs on their visits to the moon and found small moonquakes several kilometers beneath the surface. Scientists even think that the moon has a molten core just like earth.
5. The moon is the fifth-largest natural satellite in the solar system
Obviously the biggest satellite in our orbital field our moon holds some big clout in our solar system as a whole. While nothing in comparison to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn the moon is the fifth biggest orbiting a planet on our solar system. It’s interesting to think if our moon is thought to be made form an early explosion on earth, where did the other moons come from? – us or another planetary explosion.