Earth is orbited by one moon, which is
less than one-quarter the size of Earth (2,160 miles in diameter).The moon is about
250,000 miles away from the Earth. The moon takes about one month to revolve around
the Earth. During this period, the moon goes through phases, from an all dark new
moon to a crescent moon, to a full moon, then back to a new moon.
Astronauts from the Apollo space program landed on the moon in 1969 to study it. The moon
is a dry, desolate place with no air, water, or life. The moon's surface is covered
by craters of all sizes, from 5 feet to over 50 miles across.There are
also mountains, valleys, and flatlands on the moon.
As the moon orbits the Earth, its shape seems to change. This is because
the sun's light hits a different part of the moon as it moves around the Earth.
These changing shapes are called phases. |
