THE MOON

THE MOON

The Moon is the only natural satellite of Earth. It is the nearest celestial body to our planet. The Moon is the only celestial body on which human has landed.

Characteristics of the moon:

1.    It is a solid body, with a spherical shape.

2.   It has not light on his own. Its brightness is the reflection of the sunlight.

3.   There is not water or air in it.

4.   It does not have atmosphere.

5.   Its size is a quarter of the Earth’s size.

6.   It presents smooth dark zones and clear zones.

7.   Its dusty surface is covered with deep craters.

PHASES OF THE MOON

The Phases of the moon are the different aspects that the Moon takes due to the reflected light on its surface. This aspect changes constantly during a month. There are 4 basic phases of the Moon.

1.    First Quarter:

At this moment the dark diminishes, while the enlightened zone increases constantly. The half of the surface is enlightened.

2.   Full Moon:

In this period, the Moon surface is enlightened completely.

3.   Last quarter:

In this phase we can see that the enlightened face diminishes, while a dark shadow covers the half of the surface.

4.   New Moon:

In this period the Moon face becomes completely dark, to appear later, slowly.