yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Moon 101 | National Geographic


2m read
·Nov 11, 2024

  • [Narrator] Over 150 moons orbit the solar system's planets. And one of those moons calls Earth home. The moon was formed about 4.5 billion years ago when, according to one theory, the Earth slammed into another early planet. Debris from this collision began to orbit Earth and accumulated, forming today's moon.

The moon is the fifth largest natural satellite in the solar system, with a diameter just under the width of China. It's composed of an iron-rich core, plus a mantle and crust containing minerals made of magnesium, oxygen, and silicon. The moon's surface was once geologically active and covered in an ocean of magma. But today, apart from traces of water ice, the surface is completely covered in dust and rocky debris.

Countless craters dot the moon's surface. Each formed by objects such as meteoroids, comets, and asteroids crashing onto the moon. The largest crater, the South Pole-Aitken basin, spans across a quarter of the moon's surface and is nearly deep enough to fit Mount Everest inside.

The moon orbits our planet at an average distance of 30 Earths. It rotates at the same rate that it revolves. So, as it revolves around our planet, the same side of the moon faces the Earth at all times. From the Earth's surface, we can observe eight distinct traditionally recognized stages of the moon's illumination, called lunar phases.

They have been observed for thousands of years and even provided the basis for the earliest calendars. For most of human history, the moon could only be studied from afar. But on July 20th, 1969, humans were able to close that distance with the American spaceflight mission Apollo 11. It placed humans on the moon for the very first time, bringing our understanding of Earth's only natural satellite one step closer.

More Articles

View All
Dividing polynomials of degree one | Algebra 1 (TX TEKS) | Khan Academy
What we’re going to do in this video is get some practice dividing expressions. So, what do I mean by that? So let’s say that I have the expression 6X + 12, and I want to figure out what that divided by, maybe I’ll write this in a different color: divided…
One-step multiplication equations: fractional coefficients | 6th grade | Khan Academy
Let’s say that we have the equation two-fifths x is equal to ten. How would you go about solving that? Well, you might be thinking to yourself it would be nice if we just had an x on the left-hand side instead of a two-fifths x, or if the coefficient on t…
Is It Okay to Touch Mars?
[Music] Hey, Vauce! Michael here. No rocks from Mars have ever been brought back to Earth, and no human has ever touched anything on Mars. But that’s about to change. National Geographic has asked me, and Jake, and Kevin to talk about Mars because they ha…
What is love?
I love a lot of things. Some people love sunshine and rainbows. Some love the warmth of summer and the chill of winter. Others love the smell of hot coffee in the morning and the coziness of their bed at night. Some love to travel and go on crazy adventur…
Howard Marks: We're in an "Everything" Bubble
Today, we’re in an everything bubble. If he isn’t already, Howard Marks is an investor you should be listening to and learning from. He is the co-founder and co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, one of the most highly respected investment firms. In …
Exposing THE TRUTH about Alex Becker ads...
Hmm, see, I wonder what’s on YouTube today. I decided to see what videos I can watch and how much I can learn. Hmm, wait a second, what’s this? Oh, Crank are Donuts always video on it should be good. If you give me 45 seconds, I’m gonna show you how am I …