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1. What is the diameter of the Moon?
2. What is the average distance to the Moon?
3. What is the strength of the Moon’s Gravity?
4. Why do we only see one side of the Moon?
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Because the Moon’s orbital period is equal to it’s rotational period.
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5. What is the Moon’s rotational period?
6. What is the Moon’s orbital period?
7. What is the Lunar Cycle?
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It is the time taken for the Moon to go through a cycle of phases in the sky when observed from Earth.
A lunar month is 29.5 days.
Click here for an interactive demonstration of the Lunar Cycle.
8. Why is the Lunar Month 2.2 days longer than the Moon’s orbital period?
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Consider the Moon at M1 in line with the Earth and Sun
During one full orbit of the Earth by the Moon (from M1 to M2), the earth has moved in its orbit (around the Sun) from E1 to E2
An extra 2.2 days is needed to bring the Moon, the Sun and Earth back into alignment (during which time the moon has moved from M2 to M3) and complete the lunar cycle.
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9. How and when did we first see the far side of the moon.
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Russian Luna 3
October 1959
Dual lens Camera
10. Who were the first humans to see the far side of the moon directly?
11. Describe the Lunar landscape.
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Lunar seas
Maria
Iron rich basaltic rock
Dark Grey
Smooth
Highlands
Terrae
Anorthosite
Course grained Igneous rock
Lighter grey
Heavily cratered
Notable features
Sea of Crises
Apennine Mountains
Sea of Tranquility
Tycho crater
Kepler crater
Coppernicus crater
Ocean of Storms
Rilles
Narrow channel like depressions
caused by lava flows
Wrinkle ridges
Ridges up to 100’s of km long
Caused by compressive forces within cooling lava.
12. Why do we think the highland regions are older than the Lunar seas?
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Smaller number of craters in the Lunar seas.
13. What were the objectives of NASA’s Apollo Programme?
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To put men on the moon
To collect Lunar Soil and rock for analysis.
To perform scientific experiments (ALSEPS).
To beat the Russians and restore US prestige.
14. Who put the first men on the moon?
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NASA’s Apollo missions (1960)
Apollo 11 (1969)
15. What went wrong with Apollo 1?
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Launch pad fire
Welded door shut
3 Astronauts unable to escape
16. Describe the Apollo 11 mission.
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1969.
Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins.
Lunar Module (LM) Eagle
2.5 hours EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) in Sea of Tranquillity
US Flag planted
Deployed scientific instruments (EASEPs)
LM lift off and Rendezvous with Collins in CM
17. How many Humans have walked on the moon.
18. How were ALSEPS powered?
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RTG (Radio Isotope Thermoelectric Generator)
19. What did the ALSEPS do?
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Measure analyse monitor:
Structure of the Moon’s interior.
Composition and pressure of lunar atmosphere.
Intensity and direction of solar wind.
Minute changes in lunar gravity.
The presence of micrometeorites and secondary particles ejected from meteorite impacts.
Lunar dust
Thermal electrical properties of the lunar surface.
Distance from Earth to Moon using Laser ranging retro reflector (LRRR)
20. Describe 4 hypotheses for the for the formation of the Moon 4.5 billion years ago.
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Condensation/ Co-formation
Earth and Moon Formed at the same time and place
Magnetometers didn’t detect significant Lunar magnetic field
Density of Moon very different from Earth’s (ALSEPS)
therefore no iron core (like Earth) so unlikely that formed at same time as Earth.
Capture hypothesis
The Moon formed a great distance away from the earth and was captured by Earth’s gravity during a close encounter.
Fission Hypothesis
A rapidly spinning, young Earth threw off a blob which formed the moon.
Giant Impact Hypothesis (Big Whack).
Mars sized object (Theia) hit earth causing a large blob of earth’s outer layers melted and merged .
Large amount of Debris thrown into Earth orbit.
This coalesced and cooled to form the Moon
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21. Give 3 pieces of evidence to support the Giant Impact Hypothesis.
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Oxygen Isotopes are the same on the Moon and the Earth
○ Suggested that Moon and Earth formed same distance from Sun.
Lack of water and volatile compounds
Vapourised during the Moon’s formation.
KREEP (potassium rare Earth elements Phosphorus) rocks found on Moon
In Ocean of Storms
In Sea of Showers
The GIH (Giant impact Hypothesis) predicts that an ocean of hot cooling magma would have surrounded the Moon and KREEP rich magma would have crystallised in a region below the lunar crust