Our Moon

Topic Page

Questions

• At what time of the day is the moon closest to earth?
• What point of the earth is closest to the moon?
• Why is the moon described as a "silent planet"?
• How long does it take the Moon to move its own diameter through the star field?
• What is the circumference of the moon?
• What is the diameter of the moon in comparison to the earth?
• What is the circumference of the moon in miles?
• What causes moon phases? Why is there only one full moon a month?
• Why does the moon exhibit phases?
• What is the primary event that lead to the formation of the moon?
• What is the leading theory on how the moon formed? Are there any other theories? Does this theory explain why other planets in our solar might have satellites too? Or is it different for each planet?
• When was our moon formed?
• What are the four stages in the moon's history?
• What are the three theories of the moon formation?
• How does the Fission Theory plausibly motivate the lack of volatiles in the Moon and the Earth?
• When was the moon formed in relation to the earth?
• When was the theory of William Hartmann first set out?
• What are the various stages in the formation of the moon?
• It is generally agreed that the earth's moon was formed when a Mars sized planet grazed the early earth. Is it possible that this planet was slightly bigger and that it not only formed the moon but the left over went on to end up as Mercury?
• How did the lunar maria form?
• How does the formation of our moon differ from moons around other planets?
• How do astronomers explain the formation of the moon?
• What caused the formation of the moon?
• What theory describes the formation of the moon?
• Why is the formation of the moon important?
• Why did the formation of the moon lead to tides and eclipses?
• Does a planet need a moon to have human like existence?
• Why do the planets all orbit in planes very close to the ecliptic?
• If the moon did not exist would there still be tides?
• If the Moon exploded, would we hear it?
• What would happen if the moon did not exist?
• What are the lunar maria composed of and how did they form?
• What would happen to the earth if the moon were to drift farther away from the planet?
• The period of the moons orbit about the Earth is 27.3 days but the average time between full months is approximately 29.3 days. Through what fraction of its total orbital period does the Earth move in one period of the moon's orbit?
• What is the atmosphere of the moon made up of?
• Is the moon a dead star?
• Does the Moon revolve around the Earth, or do they spin around each other as they revolve around the sun?
• What is the giant impact theory about the moon's formation?
• What is the moon made of?
• Is the moon a planet or a star?
• What is the size of earth's moon?
• In the southern hemisphere, does the Moon appear to start its waxing phase in reverse?
• Are the Moon phases the same for the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemispheres?
• Why are there no stars seen in the moon landing pictures?
• What do the moon landing sites look like today?
• Does the moon orbit in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction around the earth?
• Does the moon spin in the opposite direction of the earth? Why or why not?
• How does the moon move in the sky?
• Does the moon rotate on its axis like planet earth? Why or why not?
• What type of process likely created the Earth's Moon?
• Does the moon revolve around the sun?
• How would you calculate the speed at which the moon revolves around the earth in m/s?
• What planet is closest to the moon?
• Does the moon have hemispheres?
• What is the definition of waxing moon and waning moon?
• What causes the color of the totally eclipsed moon?
• What is the origin of the terms waxing and waning as they refer to moon phases?
• What keeps the moon in orbit around the earth?
• Is the Moon bigger or smaller than the Earth?
• Why does the moon's size seem to fluctuate?
• Why does the moon go around the earth rather than the sun?
• Why does the full moon appear larger than the sun?
• How many theories exist about how the moon formed?
• What is the inclination orbit of the moon around earth?
• What is the mass of the moon?
• What percentage is the mass of the moon compared to the mass of the earth?
• Question #68c16
• What does it mean when there is a rainbow around the moon?
• Why is the moon out during the day?
• Do astronomers have another name for our moon?
• How often does a perigee moon occur on average?
• What does pericynthion mean?
• How are the sun, earth and moon positioned to create high tides and low tides?
• What is the name of positions of the sun, moon, and earth during a lunar eclipse?
• Does the moon rotate around Earth?