In search of the moon

The moon is the brightest object in the night sky, fifth largest satellite in the solar system and only second in brightness to that of the sun. Courtesy: ISRO

The gravitational force of the moon is only one sixth of that of the earth and not capable of retaining an atmosphere. The absence of any atmosphere causes the moon to undergo extremes in temperature. Courtesy: ISRO

Moon always has the same side facing the earth. This is because Earth’s gravity has slowed the moon’s rotation in such a way that the rotation time just matches the time it takes to go around the earth. The moon's rotation period around its axis and revolution period around the earth are same and is about 27 days. Therefore the moon's day is equal to its year. The time taken from one new moon to another moon is about 29 days. Courtesy: ISRO

In China, the dark shadows forming a face is seen as the toad in the moon, not the “man in the moon. The toad is considered one of the five poisons of yin. It is believed that eclipses occur when the “toad in the moon” tries to swallow the moon itself. Courtesy: NASA

Astronaut Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon with his left foot. Courtesy: NASA

Light from the moon takes about a second and a half to reach Earth. Courtesy: NASA

The earth is about four times the size of the moon, which means that flying once around the moon is the equivalent of a round trip from New York to London. The average desktop computer contains 5-10 times more computing power than was used to land a man on the moon. Courtesy: NASA

Gene Cernan was the last man to step on the moon in 1972. There is evidence that many people gain and lose weight in accordance with the cycles of the moon. Courtesy: NASA

If you added up the mass of all of the thousands of known asteroids in the asteroid belt, the total would be less than ten percent of the mass of the Earth's moon. Courtesy: NASA

A quarter moon and a half moon are the same thing. The quarter refers to the fraction of the lunar month that has passed, whilst the half describes the portion of the Moon's disc which is visible. Courtesy: NASA

Easter is the first Sunday after the first Saturday after the first full moon after the equinox. (The equinox is quite often March 21, but can also occur on the March 20 or 22). Courtesy: NASA