Earth’s Moon

EQ: How do you describe the origin and structure of the

moon?

Moon Climate

• Temperature ranges from 100 Celsius to

– 170 Celsius

• No air or water on the moon

EQ: How do you describe the origin and structure of the

moon?

Structure and Origin of the Moon• Moon’s diameter

– 3,476 kilometers– A little less than

the distance across the US

– ¼ of the Earth’s diameter

• Mass is only 1/80th of Earth

EQ: How do you describe the origin and structure of the moon?

The Collision Theory Most accepted theory of the

moon’s origin

EQ: How do you describe the origin and structure of the moon?

Telescope

• A device built to study distant objects by making them appear closer

• In 1609, the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei made a telescope by putting two lenses in a wooden tube

EQ: How do you describe the origin and

structure of the moon?

Three features of the moon can be seen with a telescope

• Craters

• Highlands

• Maria

EQ: How do you describe the origin and structure of the moon?

Crater

• A round pit on the moon’s surface

EQ: How do you describe the origin and structure of the moon?

How did craters form?

• For about 300 years, scientists believed that the craters were formed by volcanoes, like the ones on Earth

• 50 years ago, scientists concluded that the craters on the moon were caused by the impacts of meteoroids, rocks from space

• The space missions to the moon have confirmed this conclusion

EQ: How do you describe the origin and structure of the moon?

Maria

• Maria are large, flat plains on the moon’s surface

• These low, flat areas were flooded with molten material billions of years ago

Maria

Highlands

EQ: How do you describe the origin and structure of the moon?

Spacecraft Surveyor

The Surveyor’s mission to the surface of the moon was to study the surface to see if spacecraft would sink into the moon’s surface, or land on solid ground

EQ: How do you describe the origin and structure of the moon?

Moon Rocks Almost all of the rocks on

the moon were formed from the cooling of molten material. This proves the moon’s surface must have been extremely hot

Some rocks showed that they have been broken apart by impacts and then reformed

• This supports that the moon’s surface has been bombarded by meteoroids

EQ: How do you describe the origin and structure of the moon?

Interior of the moon

Scientists discovered that the interior of the moon has cooled almost completely since it was formed.

EQ: How do you describe the origin and structure of the moon?

What are the round features in this photograph called?

• The round features are craters

• The far side of the moon’s rough terrain appears to be caused by impact cratersEQ: How do you describe the origin and

structure of the moon?

The Apollo landings helped scientists learn about the moon• Scientists collected moon rocks made of

molten material• Scientists studied the moon’s interior

and discovered that the moon has weak quakes and that the moon’s interior has almost completely cooled

• Since the moon’s interior has almost completely cooled, craters were caused by impacts, not volcanic activity

EQ: How do you describe the origin and structure of the moon?

Class Work and Homework

• Fill In – What did I learn– Confused– Say

Read pages J 39 –J 44

Review and Reinforce plus:

Explain the collision theory

EQ: How do you describe the origin and structure of the moon?