Astronomy (Our Created Moon) Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is a moon?
A moon is any natural satellite that orbits a planet.
How is the moon described in Genesis 1:16?
“the lesser light that rules the night”
What three Hebrew words refer to the moon in the Old Testament?
Hodesh, ya-reah, and lebana
What is the Greek word for “moon” in the New Testament and what does it mean?
Selene- Brilliant or attractive.
How far away is the moon?
238,712 miles
What keeps the moon in the sky?
The moons tangent speed and falling motion add together to result in a smooth curving orbit around the earth.
What does the word “centripetal” mean?
“center-seeking”
What is the elusive force that occurs between objects- Even over large stretches of empty space and continues to puzzle scientists?
Gravity
What do physical laws say about the universe?
That it was created by a perfect creator.
Who said, “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind?”
Neil Armstrong
How large is the moon?
The respective diameter is 2,160 miles.
What is another name for the mutual balance point or center-of-mass between two objects?
Fulcrum
Explain what is meant by “ a many body problem” in physics in how it relates to the gravity interactions between celestial objects like the moon, sun, or earth.
It’s a moment by moment analysis depending on gravity and the center-of-mass changing continually.
Why is the size of the moon considered so unusual compared to other moons we see in our solar system?
The moon is closer in size to earth to any other planet-moon relationship.
breccias
Rocks consisting of angular fragments cemented together.
libration
Apparent wobble of variation in the visible side of the moon.
lowlands
Flat areas that cover 1/2 of the moon’s visible side.
lunar eclipse
An eclipse in which the moon appears darkened as it passes into the earths shadow.
lunar highlands
Elevated areas on the moons surface.
regolith
The layer of unconsolidated rocky material covering..
sidereal period
The period of revolution of one body around another with respect to the distant starts.
synodic period
The time for a solar body to return to the same or approximately the same position relative to the sun as seen by an observer on Earth.
Why is the moon also referred to as a “secondary” or “double planet” companion to earth?
It’s more than 5 percent the diameter of the Earth.
Why do we see only one side of the moon?
The moon rotates once on its axis during the very same time that it orbits the earth.
What are some of the previous theories on what created lunar craters?
Volcanic activity, giant internal gas bubbles rising to the surface, and collapsed sinkhole formations from dissolved underlying bed rock.
What is the predominant idea of their origin today? (crater)
Meteorite impact collisions.
How many craters are thought to be on the moon, larger than one kilometer in size?
200,000
How does the lack of an atmosphere tie in with the presence of the craters?
All approaching space rocks strike the moons surface from lack of atmosphere.
There are impact craters on earth, but they don’t look the same as those on the moon, why?
They can erode away so they look different.
What are the three varieties of moon rock that have been collected?
Crystalline rock, soil, and breccia.
How is soil on the moon different from that on earth?
It contains no organic matter and very little moisture.
Do lunar crystalline rocks contain the same chemical mineral that are found in earth rock?
Yes, they do.
What do crystalline rocks hint about the moon’s history?
They hint at rapid cooling of the moons surface in the past.
Are sodium, potassium, and lead found in rocks on the moon?
No, they are relatively depleted.
All moon rocks contain more heat-resistant elements than rocks on earth- true or false?
True
Where is anorthosite found on the moon?
The lunar highlands
What rocks help give color to the maria area of the moon?
basalt
What shape are lunar rocks?
Angular
What do small bright beads of colored glass in lunar soil indicate?
The melting of material during past impacts and subsequent rapid cooling.
Although it cannot produce light on its own, how is the moon’s ability as a reflector critical in understanding Genesis 1:16?
From our own human perspective, the only light that truly dominates the nigh sky is the nearby moon.
cold traps
Vast deposits of water in the form of ice that might exist.
neap tides
A tide just after the first or third quarter of the moon, when there is least difference between high and low water.
spring tides
A tide just after a new or full moon, when there is the greatest difference between high and low water.
By total weight, what percentage of water do most earth rocks contain?
1-2 percent water.
What is the assumed significance of water on the moon?
That it will likely led to evolved life.
How might water have gotten to the moon?
By comets or meteorites
Is there life on the moon?
No
Why were the first lunar rock samples and astronauts put into isolation for a time at the end of their space missions to the moon?
Fear of possible infecting microbes
What two things are missing from the moo that would help with the possibility of life?
Life-building carbon and free oxygen
If life is found in the universe, what are the three possible explanations for it?
Spontaneous evolution or abiogenesis, supernatural creation, or contamination from the earth.
Why is abiogenesis not a realistic expectation for life to occur?
Failure from experiments
Is there biblical support for life in space beyond that on earth?
No, not according to the book.
What causes the moon phases?
Our partial view of the sunlit portion of the moon.
In what Bible verses is the new moon mentioned?
Psalm 91:3, Isaiah 1:13, Ezekiel 46:1, and Hosea 2:11.
Were some Old Testament festivals timed with the phases of the moon?
Yes. Passover and Sukkoth
What do the moon phases affect here on earth?
Tides
What is the cause for the high spring tides?
When the sun, earth, and moon line up, the gravity of both objects contribute to the tidal pull on the earth.
Though not proven, what other things are often attributed to the moon and its phases?
Birth rate, mental health changes, crime rate, and even stock market trends.
When does a lunar eclipse occur?
When the earth is lined up exactly between the sun and moon.
How often do lunar eclipses occur?
Once or twice a year.
What is a solar eclipse?
When the new moon moves exactly between the earth and sun.
Why don’t lunar and solar eclipses happen every month?
The moon doesn’t line up right with the earth-sun system every month.
How long does a total eclipse last?
Only for a few minutes.
What causes the earth’s tides?
The moon and sun gravity pull.
How does the moon’s proximity to one side of the earth or the other impact tides?
The far side of the earth, feeling the least gravity attraction, bows slightly away from the moon to produce another high tide and the near side feels the most pull.
How quickly can the tidal bulge move at the earth’s equator?
About 1.000 mph
Does the moons gravity affect the crust of the earth?
Yes, it does.
In what quarters of the moon’s phases do neap tides occur?
First and last quarter.
Explain how the size and relative distance of the moon and the sun can help eclipses to occur.
The sun and the moon have the same apparent size in the sky, and so they are able to exactly eclipse each other.
How many unmanned Soviet landings have there been on the moon?
21
What American president in 1961 set the national goal of a manned moon exploration?
John F. Kennedy
What does it mean for a space mission to be a manned one?
People were involved
Describe the Saturn rockets used in the Apollo program for manned flights to the surface.
360 feet long with engines generating 7.5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff .
Where on the moon’s surface did Astronaut Neil Armstrong take his first steps on July 20, 1969?
Sea of Tranquility
When did the Apollo program end and how do we continue to study the moon without manned missions.
December 1972
Luna reflectors left on the moon to monitor the moons distance and lunar rocks and soil returned to earth by Apollo teams.
What are the names of the two moons of Mars
Phobos and Deimos
When were Jupiter’s largest moons discovered and by whom?
1610 by Galileo
Are there marked similarities among the moons of our solar system that would suggest common spontaneous origin?
No
Which American president began NASA in order to study the possibilities of space exploration?
Woodrow Wilson
What global pressures helped to initiate the Apollo space program’s moon exploration?
The Space Race
Has water been found in trace amounts on the moon?
yes
Why have scientists been trying to find recoverable amounts of water on the moon’s surface?
A water source might sustain a future lunar base and also provide hydrogen fuel for space missions launched from the moon.
What was one extreme method NASA used to try and find water molecules on the moon?
Crashed probes into the lunar surface.
Earth’s surface contains an abundance of water and it is also found in three states of solid, liquid, and gas- is this commonly found substance throughout our own solar system?
Not that we have found yet
Why was the South Pole of the moon a target for probes trying to find water on the moon?
They were hoping to find frozen water because the sun doesn’t shine on that side.
Why hasn’t there been a continuing search for life on the moon?
Because of the sterile lifeless surface of the moon
About how much of the earth’s surface is covered by water?
3/4 of the earth
Which Apollo missions was considered a “successful failure”?
Apollo 13 mission
How long is a trip to the moon by rocket?
60-70 hours
