The Moon

My fellow knowledge seekers, I figured since we see it all the time and probably think we know everything about it, that I’d throw out some things about the moon I find interesting:

1. Formed 4.5 billion years ago (35 billion years after the Big Bang if you believe in it), around the same time as Earth.
2. The moon is about a quarter the size of Earth and is the 5th largest in our solar system.
3. It hasn’t been visited since 1972 as it provides no value at this point.
4. The tallest mountain is about half the size of Mt. Everest which is 29,000 feet.
5. The moon is 238,855 miles from Earth and it would take a little over two days to get there.
6. That spot on the moon which looks like a navel is a huge crater that is 181 miles across.
7. If there was no moon we’d have no tides.
8. There’s no noise on the moon; if you tried to talk, people would just see your lips moving. It would be kind of funny if you could speak on the moon though as the air contains a lot of helium.
9. There’s no atmosphere so there’s no weather (i.e. wind, precipitation, etc.).
10. The moon increases its distance from Earth each year by .07 centimeters.
11. Water cannot exist on the moon’s surface because of the solar radiation in its atmosphere so any water would immediately evaporate…needless to say colonization would be practically impossible.
12. Most of the Moon’s surface is made from silicon. In many parts of the world silicon is the major constituent of sand. Basically visualize the moon’s surface as a bunch of grainy sand and dust (remember the astronauts’ footprints?), plus regular and lava rocks. You probably noticed the rocks brought back from the moon all looked ugly (kind of jagged), this is because there’s no water or wind to smooth them down.
13. On the side of the moon that the sun is shining on, the temperature reaches 260°Fahrenheit! That is hotter than boiling. On the dark side of the moon, it gets very cold, -280° Fahrenheit.