


A color enhanced photograph of the Earth's moon, Luna.
The Moon is a satellite of the planet Earth and is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. It is the largest satellite in the Solar System relative to the size of its planet, a quarter the diameter of Earth and 1/81 its mass, and is the second densest satellite after Io. It is in synchronous rotation with Earth, always showing the same face; the near side is marked with dark volcanic maria among the bright ancient crustal highlands and prominent impact craters. Its prominence in the sky and its regular cycle of phases have since ancient times made the Moon an important cultural influence on language, the calendar, art and mythology. The Moon's gravitational influence produces the ocean tides and the minute lengthening of the day. The Moon's current orbital distance, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth, causes it to be the same size in the sky as the Sun – allowing the Moon to cover the Sun precisely in total solar eclipses.
The Moon is the only celestial body on which human beings have made a manned landing. While the Soviet Union's Luna programme was the first to reach the Moon with unmanned spacecraft, the United States' NASA Apollo program achieved the only manned missions to date, beginning with the first manned lunar orbiting mission by Apollo 8 in 1968, and six manned lunar landings between 1969 and 1972 – the first being Apollo 11 in 1969. These missions returned over 380 kg of lunar rocks, which have been used to develop a detailed geological understanding of the Moon's origins, the formation of its internal structure, and its subsequent history.

The Moon transiting the Earth as seen from the NASA satellite, Deep impact.
Since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, the Moon has been visited only by unmanned spacecraft. Since 2004, Japan, China, India, the United States, and the European Space Agency have each sent lunar orbiters. These spacecraft have confirmed the discovery of lunar water ice in permanently shadowed craters at the poles and bound into the lunar regolith. The future manned missions to the Moon is uncertain. For now, the Moon remains, under the Outer Space Treaty, free to all nations to explore for peaceful purposes.

Photograph of the full moon by Luc Viatour.
THEORIES ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE MOON
1.
Fission Theory, invented by the astronomer George Darwin (son of Charles). He proposed that the earth spun so fast that a chunk broke off.
2.
Capture Theory, the moon was wandering through the solar system, and was captured by Earth’s gravity.
3.
Condensation Theory, the moon grew out of a dust cloud attracted by Earth’s gravity.
4.
Impact Theory, the currently fashionable idea that material was blasted off from Earth by the impact of another object.
5.
Artificial Satellite Theory, The Moon is an artificially built hollowed out space ship brought to our solar system by a group of extra-terrestrials in the remote
prehistoric past. The moon was placed in Earth orbit at just the right distance to help balance the forces and allow for a stable living environment on the planet. This theory was first developed in the 1960s by Russian
scientists Mijail Vasin and Alexander Sherbakov.

Earth and moon as seen from planet Mars

The South Pole of the Moon as photographed by NASA's Clementine Mission
MOON FACTS
Mean distance from earth --- 384,404 km or 239,000 miles
Diameter ---- 3,476 km or 2172.5 miles (0.273 Earth, 1/400 Sun)
Mass --- 7.35 x 1022 kg (0.0123 Earth)
Density --- 3.34 g/cm3 (0.6 Earth)
Surface Temperature --- 204°C (400°F) day, -205° C (-338°F)
True (sidereal) orbital period --- 27.322 Earth days (29.531 day phase cycle)
Orbital angular momentum --- 2.68 x 1034 kg m2/s (82.9% of earth-moon system)
Inclination of equator to orbital plane --- 6° 41¢ (cf. Earth 23° 27¢)
Earth-moon gravitational attraction --- 1.98 x 1020 N (2.23 x 1016 tons)
LUNAR MYSTERIES
Large Satellite For Small Planet:
Compared to other planets in our solar system, both the orbit path and size of our moon turns out to be a fairly considerable anomaly. Other planets, of course, have moons too. But with their weaker gravitational
influence, the smaller planets —like Mercury, Venus and Pluto—do not. Similarly sized Earth,
on the other hand, carries a moon one-quarter its size. Compare this with the immense Jupiter or Saturn,
which have several comparatively tiny satellites (Jupiter’s moons measure about 1/80th the size of the
large planet), and our moon seems to be a rather rare cosmic occurrence.
Another interesting detail is the moon’s distance from Earth—close enough so that it appears equal
in size to our sun. This curious coincidence is most apparent during total solar eclipses, where the moon
completely covers our closest star. Finally, with a nearly perfect circular orbit, the moon does not behave like other satellites that tend toward a more elliptical path.
Unlikely Surface Curvature:
The gravitational center of the moon is nearly 6,000 feet closer to Earth than its geometric center. With
such a significant discrepancy, scientists remain unable to explain how the moon manages to maintain its nearly perfect circular orbit without wobbling.
Crater Depth:
The depths of the craters on the Moon are remarkably shallow in comparison to their circumference, it suggests that the moon possesses an extremely resistant material that prevents
deeper penetration. Even craters over 180 miles in diameter
do not go deeper than 4 miles. If the moon were merely a homogeneous hunk of rock, it is estimated
that there should exist craters of at least four to five times as deep.
Vasin and Sherbakov proposed that the lunar crust was perhaps made of a titanium frame. In fact, it has
been verified that the lunar crust possesses an extraordinary level of titanium. The layer of titanium estimated by the Soviet team is nearly 20 miles thick.

Moon crater, Daedalus
Lunar Oceans:
How did the so-called lunar oceans form? These gigantic extensions are believed to be hardened lava
said to have come from the moon’s interior due to an impacting meteorite. While this theory can be easily
explained with regard to a warm planet having a molten interior, many say that the moon is more likely to have always been a cold body.
Gravitational Inconsistency:
The gravitational attraction on the moon is not uniform. The crew onboard Apollo VIII noticed their craft taking abrupt dips when flying near the
satellite’s ocean areas. At these sites, gravity seems to mysteriously exhibit a greater influence.

The dark side of the Earth's moon
Geographical Asymmetry:
On the moon’s far side (the side that can’t be seen from Earth), we have found many craters, mountains,
and geographical upheaval. Yet the side facing Earth is where we find the great majority of the satellite’s
oceans. Why are 80 percent of the lunar oceans found only on one side of the moon?
Low Density / Hollowness:
Our moon’s density is found to be about 60 percent of Earth’s density. Various studies demonstrate what
many consider its inevitable hollowness. In his 1982 book “Moongate: Suppressed Findings of the U.S.
Space Program,” nuclear engineer and researcher William L. Brian II writes that evidence provided by
Apollo seismic experiments suggest that “the moon is hollow and relatively rigid.” Furthermore, several
scientists have been so bold as to postulate that such hollowness is artificial. In fact, according to the position
of the superficial layers that have managed to be identified, scientists have declared that the moon
appears to be a planet that was formed “in reverse,” which some cite as another argument for the artificial construction hypothesis.

Earthrise as seen from the surface of the Moon during Apollo 8.
SYMBOLS REPRESENTING THE MOON
Triple Goddess Symbol

Triple Hecate Symbol

Triple Crescent Of Artemis

Triskele - triple spiral

Man in the moon symbol

Moon transiting Sun as photographed by NASA's STEREO-B satellite
MAN ON THE MOON

Buzz Aldrin - Apollo 11 - 1969

Man's Footprint On The Moon

Astronaut And Moon Rover On Lunar Surface

American Astronaut On The Moon

Crew Of Apollo 11