Studied by 2 people
2160 miles
Size of moon in diameter
Moon
It only has a trace of hydrogen, helium, neon, and argon atoms, along with other traces in even lesser quantities. It’s all, or mostly all, made of solid rock.
New Moon
The beginning of the monthly lunar cycle, or lunation.
Waxing Crescent
The moon’s bright areas are getting bigger. This phase happens as the Moon moves away from the Sun–Earth line while orbiting Earth.
Quarter Moon
As the Moon moves around its orbit, it reaches a point where the Earth–Moon line is at right angles to the Earth–Sun line.
Waxing Gibbous
When the illuminated part of the Moon that we can see grows larger than the quarter (half) Moon but is still smaller than the full Moon.
Full Moon
When the Moon is on the far side of its orbit, opposite the Sun in the sky, the lunar hemisphere that faces Earth is fully lit.
Last Quarter
The moon appears as a quarter moon again after a Full moon.
waning crescent
As the Moon nears the line between Earth and the Sun, it becomes a ______ Moon.
Synodic Month
The period of time over which the lunar phases change from the new Moon to the next new Moon, which averages 29 days, 12 hours, and 44 minutes.
Supermoon
It occurs when there is a full Moon at the same time that the Moon is at the closest point (perigee) in its orbit around Earth.
Bluemoon
It looks like other full Moons, and it’s not blue in color. It’s just a bit rare, as in the common expression “once in a blue moon.”
Moon Illusion
It occurs when you watch the Moon rising above the horizon. It seems to most viewers that the Moon looks bigger then than it does a few hours later when the Moon is high in the sky.
Lunar Eclipse
It occurs when a full Moon is exactly on the line from the Sun to Earth.
Lunar Occultation
A phenomenon that happens as the Moon moves across the background stars while orbiting Earth, it sometimes eclipses a bright star.
Immersion
The star disappears behind the moon.
Emersion
The star comes out from behind the Moon.
Asteroidal Occultation
Event when an asteroid passes in front of a star.
Impact Craters
All craters and basins on the moon.
Lunar Highlands
The larger, bright areas in the Man in the Moon, which are heavily cratered areas.
Lunar Soil
Consisting of fine rock dust, covers the surface of the Moon.
Central Peaks
Mountains of rubble thrown up in the rebound of the lunar surface from the effects of a powerful impact.
Lunar mountains
The rims of large craters or impact basins, which may have been partly destroyed by subsequent impacts.
Rays
Bright lines formed by powdery debris thrown out from some impacts.
Giant Impact Theory
The Moon consists of material blasted out of the mantle of Earth by a huge object — with up to three times the mass of Mars — that struck young Earth with a glancing blow.
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