Earth’s Moon — Our Precious Satellite that is Vital to Life

Earth’s Moon is a starting place to explore space because it is the nearest major celestial body to Earth. Moreover, the satellite is vital to life on Earth. So, you may ask, “What are more of its features?” Well, let’s find out in this article.

Basic Facts

Earth’s Moon is the fifth largest satellite in the entire Solar System. That’s because its diameter is about 3,475 kilometers, about 27.27% of Earth’s diameter. Moreover, it is quite massive compared to Earth because it has 1.2% of Earth’s mass. But, that indicates that it is less dense than Earth, at about 3.34 g/cm3. Its surface gravity is only approximately 16.56% that of Earth’s. (NASA Solar System Exploration, n.d.)¹.

It orbits Earth with a distance of about 384,000 kilometers, meaning that it takes approximately 27 Earth days to orbit our planet once. (NASA Solar System Exploration, 2019)³. Furthermore, we are looking at only one side of the Moon all the time since it is tidally locked. That means Moon’s rotational period is also about 27 Earth days, the same as its orbital period. Nevertheless, the Moon’s orbit is elliptical, meaning that we can still see a tiny bit of the far side of the Moon, although we cannot see it all. (Nola Taylor Redd, 2017)².

Lunar Phases

In the night sky, we may see the Moon changing its shape. That’s because of the Moon’s orbit around Earth. As it goes around our planet, its angle with us changes, leading to a different sight of the Moon. Remember that the Sun is the primary light source of other objects in the Solar System, including our satellite. So, the 8 lunar phases include:

• New Moon
• Waxing Crescent
• First Quarter
• Waxing Gibbous
• Full Moon
• Waning Gibbous
• Third Quarter
• Waning Crescent

We can’t see our satellite during a New Moon because the far side of the Moon is fully illuminated. Meanwhile, Earth’s Moon seems to be the brightest in a Full Moon because the near side is facing the Sun directly.

Lunar eclipses only happen when there is a Full Moon. That’s because the Earth is in front of the Moon when that happens. A lunar eclipse will take place if the Moon is right in Earth’s shadow.

Atmosphere and Temperatures

Despite the proximity to Earth, the environment on the Moon is very harsh. That’s due to the lack of its atmosphere and long rotation rate. In fact, the maximum temperature of the Moon exceeds 100 Celsius, while the minimum is at about -180 Celsius!

However, Earth’s Moon does have some sort of an atmosphere called an exosphere. It is normally the outermost layer of the air surrounding a planet, and it’s more like a molecular cloud than air that we can breathe as its density is so low.

Water on the Moon?

Although it has a hostile environment, do you know that water molecules still survive on our satellite? In reality, signs of water have already been detected on the Moon in the late 2000s. The space probes found water in the permanently-shaded regions of the Moon because ice can exist stably in those locations. If it’s too hot, ice will melt or even evaporate, and water vapor is much harder to find than solid and liquid water.

However, SOFIA recently disproved the hypothesis of water on the Moon only existing in cold areas. That’s because the spacecraft confirmed evidence of water on the sunlit surface of the Moon. That means water may be distributed evenly on the lunar surface. (Felicia Chou et al., 2020)⁵.

Then, how does the water arrive on the sunlit surface in the first place? Well, it may be due to meteor impacts or even interactions with solar wind. (NASA’s Ames Research Center, 2020)⁶.

Why is the Moon Essential to Life on Earth?

Let’s talk about the most elegant feature of the Moon to our planet: The Moon is vital to life on Earth as we know it. Here are two reasons why.

Firstly, Earth’s Moon provides tides to our oceans, circulating the nutrients and essential elements. If the Moon disappeared, tides would significantly reduce, making organisms that rely on tides struggle to survive. This can go all the way up the food chain and affect humans and other animals as well.

Secondly, our satellite also stabilizes the Earth’s rotational axis, making our seasons relatively stable. If it just vanished, Earth’s seasons will eventually become unstable, and the climate will change unexpectedly and wildly.

To conclude, the Moon is continuously preventing Earth’s climate and ecosystems from wreaking havoc, so we should value it much more than a bright object in the sky. For more on the Moon’s importance, look at the consequences of losing the Moon.

Conclusion

So, we’ve discussed the Moon’s basic features, lunar phases, and how crucial is the Moon to Earth in this article. There are many more amazing features waiting for you to learn! So, check out the references to learn more about our satellite!

References and Credits

1. (n.d.). By the Numbers | Earth – NASA Solar System Exploration. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/earth/by-the-numbers/
2. Nola Taylor Redd. (2017, November 14). Does the Moon Rotate? | Space. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://www.space.com/24871-does-the-moon-rotate.html
3. (2019, December 19). In Depth | Earth’s Moon – NASA Solar System Exploration. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/earths-moon/in-depth/
4. (n.d.). What is the temperature on the Moon? – Cool Cosmos – Caltech. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/168-What-is-the-temperature-on-the-Moon-
5. Felicia Chou et al. (2020, October 26). NASA’s SOFIA Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon | NASA. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-sofia-discovers-water-on-sunlit-surface-of-moon
6. NASA’s Ames Research Center. (2020, October 27). SOFIA Discovers Water on a Sunlit Surface of the Moon – YouTube. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U70y8ypCbyA
7. Tech Insider. (2018, March 24). What Would Happen If The Moon Disappeared? – YouTube. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MP920xMC0Q
8. (n.d.). What Are the Moon’s Phases? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/moon-phases/en/

Image Credits: NASA’s Eyes, Canva