Glossary · Beginner level

Earth's Moon

The Moon is Earth's natural satellite, about 3,475 kilometres across, and a few hundred meteorites have come from it.

The Moon orbits Earth at an average distance of about 384,400 kilometres and is about 3,475 kilometres across, roughly a quarter of Earth's width. It always shows the same face to us because its spin matches its orbit.

The Moon has no air or liquid water, so its surface preserves a record of impacts going back more than 4 billion years. The dark maria are plains of basalt lava, and the bright highlands are ancient crust rich in feldspar. Six Apollo missions, three Soviet Luna missions and China's Chang'e 5 and 6 brought back samples.

Meteorites from the Moon also exist. Impacts throw lunar rock into space, and some lands on Earth. More than 600 lunar meteorites have been named, many of them paired, mostly found in deserts and Antarctica. Because they come from random places on the Moon, including the far side, they complement the samples from landing sites.

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Level: Beginner Ages 7 and up