Known since prehistoric times, it is the brightest object in the sky after the sun Its name in english, like that of earth, is of germanic and old english derivation. The earth and moon are tidally locked Their rotations are so in sync we only see one side of the moon Humans didn't see the lunar far side until a soviet spacecraft flew past in 1959 The moon has a solid, rocky surface cratered and pitted from impacts by asteroids, meteorites, and comets.
Space agencies around the world are planning moon missions that will depend on water ice for resources, but much remains unknown about its availability of water ice on the lunar surface. Learn about the moon's violent origins, how its phases shaped the earliest calendars, and how humans first explored earth's only natural satellite half a century ago. A japanese astronomer captured a pair of objects slamming into the lunar surface in recent days. On earth, our view of the illuminated part of the moon changes each night, depending on where the moon is in its orbit, or path, around earth When we have a full view of the completely illuminated side of the moon, that phase is known as a full moon.
OPEN
