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FACTS ABOUT
THE MOON

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The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite.

The lunar crust is composed of:

  1. Oxygen (42%)
  2. Silicon (21%)
  3. Iron (13%)
  4. Calcium (8%)
  5. Aluminum (7%)
  6. Magnesium (6%)
  7. Other (3%)

The "dark side" of the Moon.

The Moon is in a synchronous rotation with Earth, which means that one side of the Moon (the "near side") is permanently turned towards Earth. The other side, the "far side", mostly cannot be seen from Earth.The far side is sometimes called the "dark side". In this case "dark" means "unknown and hidden" and not "lacking light"; in fact the far side receives (on average) as much sunlight as the near side, but at opposite times. Spacecraft are cut off from direct radio communication with the Earth when on the far side of the Moon.

The Moon is covered with tens of thousands of craters having a diameter of at least 1 kilometer. Most are hundreds of millions or billions of years old; the lack of atmosphere or weather or recent geological processes ensures that most of them remain permanently preserved.

 

Phases of the Moon for 2005

Phases of the Moon
New Moon
First Quarter
Full Moon
Last Quarter
Jan 3 • 9:45 a.m.
Jan 10 • 4:02 a.m.
Jan 16 • 10:57 p.m.
Jan 25 • 2:32 a.m.
Feb 1 • 11:26 p.m.
Feb 8 • 2:27 p.m.
Feb 15 • 4:15 p.m.
Feb 23 • 8:53 p.m.
Mar 3 • 9:36 a.m.
Mar 10 • 1:10 a.m.
Mar 17 • 11:18 a.m.
Mar 25 • 12:58 p.m.
Apr 1 • 4:50 p.m.
Apr 8 • 1:31 p.m.
Apr 16 • 7:37 a.m.
Apr 24 • 3:06 a.m.
Apr 30 • 11:24 p.m.
May 8 • 1:45 a.m.
May 16 • 1:56 a.m.
May 23 • 1:18 p.m.
May 30 • 4:47 a.m.
Jun 6 • 2:55 p.m.
Jun 14 • 6:22 p.m.
Jun 21 • 9:13 p.m.
Jun 28 • 11:23 a.m.
July 6 • 5:02 a.m.
July 14 • 8:19 a.m.
July 21 • 4:00 a.m.
July 27 • 8:18 p.m.
Aug. 4 • 8:04 p.m.
Aug. 12 • 7:38 p.m.
Aug. 19 • 10:52 a.m.
Aug. 26 • 8:17 a.m.
Sep 3 • 11:45 a.m.
Sep 11 • 4:36 a.m.
Sep 17 • 7:00 p.m.
Sep 24 • 11:40 p.m.
Oct 3 • 3:27 a.m.
Oct 10 • 12:00 p.m.
Oct 17 • 5:13 a.m.
Oct 24 • 6:16 p.m.
Nov 1 • 5:24 p.m.
Nov 8 • 5:56 p.m.
Nov 15 • 4:57 p.m.
Nov 23 • 2:11 p.m.
Dec 1 • 7:00 a.m.
Dec 8 • 1:36 a.m.
Dec 15 • 8:15 a.m.
Dec 23 • 11:36 a.m.
Dec 30 • 7:11 p.m.