| The moon keeps the same side facing the Earth at all times. As the Moon travels around the Earth, we see a varying degree of this side each day. These stages are called phases of the Moon
The Moon's surface is covered with craters, ridges, mountains and valleys. The dark maria are the smoothest parts because of the lava that created them flowed over and covered old craters. The biggest Moon crater that can be seen from Earth is called Bailly. It's about 290 km across.
The Moon & Earth are roughly about the same age. Several theories have been discussed:
- The Moon & Earth formed together from the same dust and gas cloud.
- The Moon was a wandering space body that came close to Earth and became trapped in the Earth's orbit.
- When the Earth was young and molten, it grew a bulge that spun off and became the Moon.
- A small planet hit the young molten Earth and threw material into orbit, which got drawn together to form the Moon.
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| Moon crater Copernicus is 93 km wide and is located within the Mare Imbrium Basin, northern nearside of the Moon. Courtesy Nasa. |
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- The Moon is slowly moving away from the from the Earth at the rate of 3cm per year.
- The far side of Moon was not seen until 1959 when the Soviet spacecraft, Luna 3, flew by and took pictures.
- Earth's gravity has pulled on the bright side of the Moon, causing bulges several kilometers high
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