The Moon's craters
Look at the Moon through binoculars and you will see it is covered in round holes.
The Moon is Earth's nearest neighbour in space. It is about 384,000 kilometres away. That is like going around Earth nearly ten times.
If you look at the Moon with binoculars, you will see round holes all over it. These are craters. Space rocks made them, a very long time ago.
Most of the Moon's craters are billions of years old. They are still there because the Moon has no wind, no rain, no rivers and no plants to wear them away.
The biggest dark patches on the Moon are called seas, but there is no water in them. They are flat plains of old lava that flowed out and cooled long ago.
Twelve astronauts walked on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. They brought back rocks for scientists to study. Their footprints are still there, because nothing blows them away.
The best time to see craters with binoculars is when the Moon is half lit. The shadows along the edge make the craters stand out.
Keep a Moon diary for a month using the Moon diary sheet. Draw its shape each clear night.