Top 5 Facts about the Moon
top 5, facts, wm facts, moon, lunar, explosion, full moon, lunacy, moon express, water on moon, craters, exploration, space, watchmojo,
Script written by Nathan Sharp
Bonus fact! In Ancient Greece, a philosopher named Anaxagoras believed the moon was a giant rock that reflected the light of the sun. He was tried exiled for blasphemy. Welcome to Watchmojo's Top 5 Facts. For today's installment, we're counting down the coolest facts we could find the moon, the Earth’s little grey space buddy.
No, not the Big Bang. Although I guess technically it was created from that, too. No, we mean the moon is actually created from pieces of Earth that blew off in an explosion. The prevailing theory states that a planetoid the size of Mars collided with Earth billions of years ago, blowing off pieces of the planet. This actually left the Earth with two moons, which eventually collided, leaving one nearly-spherical moon. That's right, the moon isn't actually as round as it appears; it's actually more like a slightly-deflated basketball. The side facing Earth is slightly larger, making it seem bigger and rounder than it actually is.
There will always be that one superstitious aunt who claims that a full moon makes us all go a little nutty. But, there is no, and never has been, a link between the moon and insanity. In a meta-analysis entitled "Much Ado About the Full Moon," researchers examined 37 studies to find a link between moon cycles and various kinds lunacy and concluded that no significant link could be found. That said, a 2013 study found that lunar cycles do affect some heart operations, contradicting some earlier findings. The study found that acute aortic dissections performed during full moons are associated with shorter hospital stays: 10 days for surgeries performed during the full moon phase, versus 14 days for those performed in other phases.
It's true. By this time next year, the moon will only be a small speck in the sky. OK, it might not be that drastic, but still! The moon moves away from our friendly and welcoming orbit at a rate of 3.8 centimeters, or one and a half inches, every year. That means that the moon was actually much closer to us thousands of years ago, and would have appeared much larger in the night sky. Today, the moon is about a quarter million miles from Earth. When it was formed, it was only a reach-out-and-touch-it 14,000 miles away.
Forget Mars. There's water on the moon! Scientists have discovered that there is frozen water located in permanently-shadowed craters and that there may in fact be water located just beneath the dusty surface. They theorize that the water may have blown in on solar winds or was deposited by comets. It's estimated that the moon holds 1.6 billion tons of water ice at its poles and rare-Earth elements below its surface. Moon Express, a California-based company, is already making plans mine the moon and bring some of its elements, including cobalt, iron, and platinum, back to Earth.
Those of us born after the 70s have never experienced the excitement of humans traveling to the moon–no humans have left low earth orbit since 1972. However, the creatively-titled Exploration Mission 2 plans to be the first manned mission to the Moon in decades. NASA plans to launch this mission in 2023. Astronauts will orbit the moon and hopefully fly by an asteroid that was part of Exploration Mission 1’s… mission. EM-2 will give NASA a chance to test out its Orion shuttle– the same shuttle that will likely head to Mars in 20 years from now.
So now what do you think of our friendly space neighbour? Do you think it’s a good idea for us to go back? For more not so crazy after all top tens and blasphemous top fives, be sure to subscribe to Watchmojo.com.
Top 5 Facts About the Moon
Bonus fact! In Ancient Greece, a philosopher named Anaxagoras believed the moon was a giant rock that reflected the light of the sun. He was tried exiled for blasphemy. Welcome to Watchmojo's Top 5 Facts. For today's installment, we're counting down the coolest facts we could find the moon, the Earth’s little grey space buddy.
#5: The Moon Was Created from a Violent Explosion
No, not the Big Bang. Although I guess technically it was created from that, too. No, we mean the moon is actually created from pieces of Earth that blew off in an explosion. The prevailing theory states that a planetoid the size of Mars collided with Earth billions of years ago, blowing off pieces of the planet. This actually left the Earth with two moons, which eventually collided, leaving one nearly-spherical moon. That's right, the moon isn't actually as round as it appears; it's actually more like a slightly-deflated basketball. The side facing Earth is slightly larger, making it seem bigger and rounder than it actually is.
#4: There is No Link Between the Moon and Lunacy
There will always be that one superstitious aunt who claims that a full moon makes us all go a little nutty. But, there is no, and never has been, a link between the moon and insanity. In a meta-analysis entitled "Much Ado About the Full Moon," researchers examined 37 studies to find a link between moon cycles and various kinds lunacy and concluded that no significant link could be found. That said, a 2013 study found that lunar cycles do affect some heart operations, contradicting some earlier findings. The study found that acute aortic dissections performed during full moons are associated with shorter hospital stays: 10 days for surgeries performed during the full moon phase, versus 14 days for those performed in other phases.
#3: The Moon is Slowly Moving Further Away from Earth
It's true. By this time next year, the moon will only be a small speck in the sky. OK, it might not be that drastic, but still! The moon moves away from our friendly and welcoming orbit at a rate of 3.8 centimeters, or one and a half inches, every year. That means that the moon was actually much closer to us thousands of years ago, and would have appeared much larger in the night sky. Today, the moon is about a quarter million miles from Earth. When it was formed, it was only a reach-out-and-touch-it 14,000 miles away.
#2: There's Water on the Moon
Forget Mars. There's water on the moon! Scientists have discovered that there is frozen water located in permanently-shadowed craters and that there may in fact be water located just beneath the dusty surface. They theorize that the water may have blown in on solar winds or was deposited by comets. It's estimated that the moon holds 1.6 billion tons of water ice at its poles and rare-Earth elements below its surface. Moon Express, a California-based company, is already making plans mine the moon and bring some of its elements, including cobalt, iron, and platinum, back to Earth.
#1: Humans Are Going Back to the Moon
Those of us born after the 70s have never experienced the excitement of humans traveling to the moon–no humans have left low earth orbit since 1972. However, the creatively-titled Exploration Mission 2 plans to be the first manned mission to the Moon in decades. NASA plans to launch this mission in 2023. Astronauts will orbit the moon and hopefully fly by an asteroid that was part of Exploration Mission 1’s… mission. EM-2 will give NASA a chance to test out its Orion shuttle– the same shuttle that will likely head to Mars in 20 years from now.
So now what do you think of our friendly space neighbour? Do you think it’s a good idea for us to go back? For more not so crazy after all top tens and blasphemous top fives, be sure to subscribe to Watchmojo.com.
Have an idea you want to see made into a WatchMojo video? Check out our suggest page and submit your idea.
Step up your quiz game by answering fun trivia questions! Love games with friends? Challenge friends and family in our leaderboard! Play Now!