Where Is The Moon In The Solar System

Magnetic And Gravitational Fields

The Moon has an external magnetic field of less than 0.2 nanoteslas, or less than one hundred thousandth that of Earth. The Moon does not currently have a global dipolar magnetic field and only has crustal magnetization likely acquired early in its history when a dynamo was still operating. However, early in its history, 4 billion years ago, its magnetic field strength was likely close to that of Earth today. This early dynamo field apparently expired by about one billion years ago, after the lunar core had completely crystallized. Theoretically, some of the remnant magnetization may originate from transient magnetic fields generated during large impacts through the expansion of plasma clouds. These clouds are generated during large impacts in an ambient magnetic field. This is supported by the location of the largest crustal magnetizations situated near the antipodes of the giant impact basins.

What Did The Early Earth Look Like

After the moon-forming impact, Earth was a very different planet from the world we see today! Where the present-day Earth has oceans covering much of its surface, the early Earth was covered in a magma ocean – a layer of molten rock hundreds of miles deep melted by the energy released during the collision. Any water present would only exist as water vapor in the atmosphere.

If that wasnt enough, the early sun was also far more active than it is today, blasting the entire solar system with UV radiation energetic enough to evaporate entire atmospheres.

Over time, after the magma ocean cooled enough to form a solid surface, Earths atmosphere was replenished by volcanic eruptions, as well as water and other gasses delivered by comets and meteorites crashing into the surface.

This was also the first step towards our planet developing plate tectonics. Plate tectonics describes the giant plates of crust that slowly move around Earths surface over hundreds of millions of years it not only produces new rocks at volcanoes where the plates are moving apart, but can also recycle rocks from the Earths surface and atmosphere back into the interior where plates are coming together. This process – known as subduction – carries rocks, water, and carbon dioxide trapped in minerals back into the Earths interior where they can drive future volcanic eruptions, continuing the plate tectonic cycle.

Luna Goddess Of The Moon

As we finish exploring the wonders of Earth, we turn our attention to a large, cratered object orbiting only 238,800 miles away. This is Earth’s moon, and it is the planet’s only natural satellite. Although we call it simply “the Moon“, it is associated with the Roman goddess Luna, who was goddess of the hunt and of the Moon. It is the sixth largest moon in the Solar System, and has been Earth’s partner for most of the planet’s known history. Although it has been lighting our dark nights for so long, its origins are mostly unknown. Some believe it was formed when a gigantic asteroid smashed into the Earth. The resulting impact flung molten material far out into space where it cooled and formed the Moon we see today. Others believe it was a wandering planetoid captured by the Earth’s gravitational pull. Wherever it came from, it has fascinated mankind for centuries. The Moon is the only planetary body whose surface can be seen from Earth with the naked eye.

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The Moon Occults Jupiter

Just before dawn on May 17, 2023 a waning, 5%-lit crescent Moon will move across Jupiter. Later that day it will occult it.

Since the Moons orbital path around the Earth is slanted only 5º to Earths orbit around the Sunand the plane of the solar systemthats bound to happen now and again.

It will be visible from parts of the Americas and Europe, though only easily to those with motorized telescopes. It wont happen again until 2026.

The Sun And Planetary Environments

Around 5.4 billion years from now, the core of the Sun will become hot enough to trigger hydrogen fusion in its surrounding shell. This will cause the outer layers of the star to expand greatly, and the star will enter a phase of its life in which it is called a red giant. Within 7.5 billion years, the Sun will have expanded to a radius of 1.2 AU â256 times its current size. At the tip of the red-giant branch, as a result of the vastly increased surface area, the Sun’s surface will be much cooler ) than now, and its luminosity much higherâup to 2,700 current solar luminosities. For part of its red-giant life, the Sun will have a strong stellar wind that will carry away around 33% of its mass. During these times, it is possible that Saturn‘s moon Titan could achieve surface temperatures necessary to support life.

As the Sun expands, it will swallow the planets Mercury and Venus.Earth‘s fate is less clear although the Sun will envelop Earth’s current orbit, the star’s loss of mass will cause the planets’ orbits to move farther out. If it were only for this, Venus and Earth would probably escape incineration, but a 2008 study suggests that Earth will likely be swallowed up as a result of tidal interactions with the Sun’s weakly-bound outer envelope.

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What Is The Moon Made Of

The moon very likely has a very small core, just 1% to 2% of the moons mass and roughly 420 miles wide. It likely consists mostly of iron, but may also contain large amounts of sulfur and other elements.

The moons rocky mantle is about 825 miles thick and made up of dense rocks rich in iron and magnesium. Magma in the mantle made its way to the surface in the past and erupted volcanically for more than a billion years from at least four billion years ago to fewer than three billion years ago.

The crust that includes the lunar surface averages some 42 miles deep. The outermost part of the crust is broken and jumbled due to all the large impacts the moon has endured , with the shattered zone giving way to intact material below a depth of about 6 miles .

Like our solar systems four innermost planets, the moon is rocky. Its pockmarked with craters created by asteroid impacts millions of years ago and, because there is no weather, the craters have not eroded.

: Our changing moon

The average composition of the lunar surface by weight is roughly 43% oxygen, 20% silicon, 19% magnesium, 10% iron, 3% calcium, 3% aluminum, 0.42% chromium, 0.18% titanium and 0.12% manganese.

Orbiting spacecraft have found traces of water on the lunar surface that may have originated from deep underground. They have also located hundreds of pits that could one day house explorers living on the moon long-term.

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Galactic Collision And Planetary Disruption

Although the vast majority of galaxies in the Universe are moving away from the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy, the largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, is heading toward it at about 120 km/s. In 4 billion years, Andromeda and the Milky Way will collide, causing both to deform as tidal forces distort their outer arms into vast tidal tails. If this initial disruption occurs, astronomers calculate a 12% chance that the Solar System will be pulled outward into the Milky Way’s tidal tail and a 3% chance that it will become gravitationally bound to Andromeda and thus a part of that galaxy. After a further series of glancing blows, during which the likelihood of the Solar System’s ejection rises to 30%, the galaxies’ supermassive black holes will merge. Eventually, in roughly 6 billion years, the Milky Way and Andromeda will complete their merger into a giant elliptical galaxy. During the merger, if there is enough gas, the increased gravity will force the gas to the centre of the forming elliptical galaxy. This may lead to a short period of intensive star formation called a starburst. In addition, the infalling gas will feed the newly formed black hole, transforming it into an active galactic nucleus. The force of these interactions will likely push the Solar System into the new galaxy’s outer halo, leaving it relatively unscathed by the radiation from these collisions.

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Spots In Our Solar System Worth Visiting In Person

“Somehow I took an idea inspired by a space coffee cup and a messy spill in the refrigerator, convinced a team of amazing people to work with me, and mixed it all into a winning NIAC concept over summer break,” Morley, who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Washington State University, .

The spill made Morley think of astronaut Don Pettit’s efforts to create a microgravity-friendly coffee cup that uses capillary action to better control the flow of liquids. For some reason, Morley began to think about how a similar action could be put to use on an aircraft.

“I’m not sure how I was inspired to bring liquid in through a permeable wing skin. I remember dwelling on the idea for a while though, not knowing what to do with a wing bullnose full of liquid.”

Eventually the idea became a central component of TitanAir, “a relocatable lake lander” or “laker” that can land on a body of liquid and collect some of that liquid through its permeable skin for scientific study. Perhaps no liquid in the solar system is more fascinating and worth studying than the fluids that make up the bizarre lakes and seas of Titan.

The Moon Throws Stones At Us: Lunar Meteorites

In 1982, we made a startling discovery. A meteorite found in Antarctica, ALHA 81005, is from the moon! The rock is a complex regolith breccia, similar to those returned by the Apollo 16 mission in 1972. We have since found over 50 meteorites that, as determined from their unique chemical composition, come from the moon. These rocks were blasted off the lunar surface by impacts, then captured and swept up by Earth as it moves through space. The lunar meteorites come from random places all over the moon and they provide data complementary to the Apollo samples and the global maps of composition obtained by Clementine and Lunar Prospector.

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Size And Orbit Of Ganymede

If Galileo were alive today, he would probably be astonished at the amount of information that has been discovered about the moons he discovered over 400 years ago. The four moons he discovered were later named the four Galilean moons of Jupiter. Moving in order from innermost to outermost, they are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Ganymede is the larger of the four and the biggest, most massive moon in the solar system. Having a diameter of 3,273-miles , it is larger than Mercury, which has a diameter of 3,032-miles . In fact, Ganymede is so big that if it orbited the sun rather than Jupiter, it would be defined as a planet rather than a moon.

Ganymede orbits Jupiter at a distance of 665,100-miles . At this distance, it takes Ganymede just over seven days to complete one orbit around Jupiter. Like most moons in our solar system, Ganymede has no rotation. Rather, Ganymede is tidally locked to Jupiter, meaning that one side always faces the gas giant while the other side constantly faces away

What Are The Dark Areas On The Moon

One of the main things you notice when observing the Moon is that it has a bright and dark areas across its surface.

The dark areas are known as “mare” , which is the Latin word for seas. The lunar mare are volcanic basins created in the aftermath of ancient impacts billions of years ago. After the impacts, the craters filled with lava, which eventually cooled to form smooth, dark plains. Dark lava rock of this kind, known as basalt , is also found here on Earth.

One of the most famous mare is the Sea of Tranquility. This was the landing site chosen for Apollo 11, in part because it was fairly smooth and level.

50 years on, NASA continues to reveal the Moon’s secrets, with an eye toward sending the next human astronauts there in the near future with the agency’s Artemis program.

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The Biggest Full Moon Of The Year Will Be A Blue Moon

A Blue Moon is merely the second full moon in a calendar month, something that is bound to happen every few years because the Moon takes 29 days to orbit the Earth. However, summers Blue Moonwhich will look its best at moonrise on Wednesday, August 30 and Thursday, August 31will also be the closest full Moon to Earth, so the years best supermoon.

It will turn full while 357,344 km from Earth.

A waning crescent Moon will shine beside, then occult, Jupiter on May 17, 2023.

Stellarium

What Color Is The Moon

The Moon tends to look sort of orange or amber colored when it’s rising or setting, and more whitish when it’s high overhead. But it might surprise you that it looks different up close. The orangey colors are caused by the Moon’s light passing through Earth’s atmosphere to reach your eyes. And the bright whitish appearance results from its surface being brightly illuminated by the Sun.

Up close, the Moon’s surface is mostly shades of gray, in particular the color of old, well-worn asphalt.

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What Are The Dark Spots On The Moon

Similar anorthosite can be seen on the Isle of Rum in Scotland. What’s more, most of the ocean floor is basalt – it’s the most common surface on all the inner planets in our solar system.

‘However, what is really special on the Moon, that we can’t ever replicate on Earth, is that the Moon is geologically rather dead,’ Sara says.

The Moon hasn’t had volcanoes for billions of years, so its surface is remarkably unchanged. This is also why impact craters are so clear.

Who Has Walked On The Moon

Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were the first of 12 human beings to walk on the Moon. Four of America’s moonwalkers are still alive: Aldrin , David Scott , Charles Duke , and Harrison Schmitt .

In all, 24 American astronauts made the trip from Earth to the Moon between 1968 and 1972. Three astronauts made the journey from Earth to the Moon twice: James Lovell , John Young , and Gene Cernan .

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Moons Of The Giant Planets

Jupiter’s menagerie of moons includes the largest in the solar system , an ocean moon and a volcanic moon . Many of Jupiter’s outer moons have highly elliptical orbits and orbit backwards . Saturn, Uranus and Neptune also have some irregular moons, which orbit far from their respective planets.

Saturn has two ocean moons Enceladus and Titan. Both have subsurface oceans and Titan also has surface seas of lakes of ethane and methane. The chunks of ice and rock in Saturn’s rings are not considered moons, yet embedded in Saturn’s rings are distinct moons or moonlets. These shepherd moons help keep the rings in line. Titan, the second largest in the solar system, is the only moon with a thick atmosphere.

In the realm of the ice giants, Uranus’s inner moons appear to be about half water ice and half rock. Miranda is the most unusual its chopped-up appearance shows the scars of impacts of large rocky bodies.

Neptune’s moon Triton is as big as Pluto and orbits backwards compared with Neptune’s direction of rotation.

What Is The Coldest Place On The Moon

It found mid-winter, night-time surface temperatures inside the coldest cratersthe south western edge of the floor of Hermite crater, the southern edges of the floors of Peary and Bosch craters in the northern polar regioncan dip as low as minus 249C .

Is the moon colder than Pluto?

Since the sun no longer heats the surface, the moons surface can drop to -232 Celsius . These are the coldest temperatures in our solar system, which means the surface of the moon becomes colder than that of Pluto.

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Solar System Map Of Current Planetary Positions

Both apps show a solar system map – a “plan view” of the planets laid out in the plane of the ecliptic .

Dwarf planet positions are also shown – but it should be realised that these objects often rise far above and below the plane of the ecliptic. This is because their orbital planes are tilted with respect to the ecliptic – by more than 40 degrees in some cases. So be aware that just because the app may occasionally show a planet and a dwarf planet to be very close to each other in the plan view, they may, in fact, be separated by a large perpendicular distance.

Blue Supermoon To An American Ring Of Fire Eclipse: 7 Things You Need To Know About The Moon In 2023

Amazing waxing crescent moon as seeing from the southern hemisphere. Amazing the moon surface full … of craters from meteorites coming from the universe and crashing our satellite the Moon. For recording the video an 80mm APO refractor has been used.

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Are you a moongazer? You should become one in 2023. Over the next 12 months skywatchers and astronomy enthusiasts will have the opportunity to observe two rare kinds of solar eclipses, several supermoons, a partial lunar eclipse and some beautiful conjunctions of the the moon and planets.

Here are seven things you need to know about the moon and its movements in 2023, many of which will result in some stunning views.

So mark your calendars and get ready to witness some of these truly breathtaking lunar displays:

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