Science | May 18, 2009 | 15 comments

3 Weird Things About the Moon

source: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/17-05/st_3smartthings

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brad2000
What do we really know about the moon? I know that the American’s claim to have landed there when my parents were children, that some say it’s made of cheese, and that it makes werewolves go completely loco. Other than that, I know zip. Therefore these three facts are going in the ‘ol brain box in preparation for the next time I’m sat on the beach gazing at the stars; and I will proudly announce:

// It's black
Well, it's really more of a dark gray. The moon appears white because we have no point of comparison in the night sky. It's an optical illusion. If there were a truly white object next to it, the moon would look quite dingy.

2 // It has dust storms
Astronauts report that plumes of particles rise off the lunar surface at dusk and dawn—even though there's no wind. How? One theory is that solar radiation creates an electrostatic charge that lofts the dust into space.

3 // It's from here
The leading explanation of lunar origin, the so-called big whack hypothesis, posits that the orb was created when a planet-sized object slammed into Earth, knocking off a cloud of vaporized rock that eventually condensed into the moon.

Word for word I will plagiarise these facts and everyone will think I’m the one NASA left behind.
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15 comments // 3 Weird Things About the Moon

  • twitterbot
  • Commentor
    • 0
      Commentor  

    • yeat another one ... its exactly the right size and distance to create the total eclipse of the sun and so that the earth eclipses the moon

      --- oh yeah and it controls the tides and the wobble

    • 2 years ago
  • twitterbot
  • Alanisnotcool
    • 0
      Alanisnotcool  

    • coolest fact: try focusing your eyes a little differently and look at the moon, you will see the moon's aura. yes its real, the easiest color to see is blue on the outer rim, then red, ect untill you see the entire rainbow surrounding it.

      true story

    • 2 years ago
  • SamuraiDave
    • 0
      SamuraiDave  

    • i remember one theory for the gigantism of animals like dinosaurs and early mammals after them was due to the moon being closer to the earth. A full moon in dino times must have been truly romantic except for the velociraptors

    • 2 years ago
  • Gregsalter
  • the_dark_cleft
  • nursediesel
    • 0
      nursediesel  

    • Gee, all my life my mom told me it was her moon, her daddy told her so.
      The moon has an effect on the tides so of course it effects us... we're, what 98% water?

    • 2 years ago
  • 02
  • nursediesel
    • 0
      nursediesel  
    • nursediesel:

      Yeah, I was a Head Injury nurse and trust me I KNEW when the full moom was because the patients started acting like they needed locked down.
      My mom was an OB/GYNE nurse and they had alot if babies born during the full moon.

    • 2 years ago
  • GoodGodGuy
    • 0
      GoodGodGuy  

    • The plumes of dust at dusk on the moon are caused by water in the rocks instantly freezing after being heated to 320 degrees in the day. Yes there are people living there and that is why we quit going. We were told "all of the other moons are yours but Europa. 2010

    • 2 years ago
  • 02
    • 0
      02  

    • I read that it is slowly receding from us and that it is therefore slowing down - and that therefore2, it used to be faster and be closer.

      There's some story, which I can't remember the details of right now, where the horseshoe crab lays it's eggs with the New and full moon in mid-spring. Their reproductive cycle would have been much faster in the long ago past.

      If the moon cycle was faster in the past, it would have been different for the Dinys as well.

      Maybe their reproductive systems couldn't stand the change. No!?

    • 2 years ago
  • matlaroche
    • 0
      matlaroche  

    • a brilliant use of moon trivia in an advert...

      Also, when the moon is Daring she is waxing when she is Coy she is waning. (D and C refer to her shape).
      Now you know if the moon is getting smaller or bigger!

    • 2 years ago
  • matlaroche
  • burukku16
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