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Astronomy GCSE (Edexcel) > Ay [T3] - The Moon > Flashcards

Ay [T3] - The Moon Flashcards

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1
Q

What’s the mean diameter of the moon?

A

3,500km

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2
Q

What’s the mean radius of the moon?

A

1,750km

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3
Q

What are maria and how are they formed?

A

Maria, aka seas

Dark areas on the moon

Formed by asteroids hitting the moon’s surface and breaking through the crust. Then, the molten mantle fills the impact area and cools into a basalt lake.

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4
Q

What are terrae and how are they formed?

A

Terrae, aka highlands

Bright areas higher on moon’s surface.

Formed billions of years ago, when moon underwent a time of frequent and violent impacts.

Millions of years later, when moon underwent period of high volcanic activity and lava was flowing to the surface and cooling into basalt, the lower impact areas were the ones affected, whereas the highlands were left untouched.

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5
Q

What are craters and how are they formed?

A

Impacts on the moon

Formed by asteroids and meteorites colliding with lunar surface (moon has no atmosphere to protect itself against impacts)

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6
Q

What are rilles and how are they formed?

A

Depressions (cracks/clefts) on lunar surface

Formed by lava flowing across the surface, then collapsing and cooling

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7
Q

What are wrinkle ridges and how are they formed?

A

Elevations occurring exclusively in mare (singular for maria) basalt

Formed after lava in mare cools into basalt - thought to have formed by the contracting of the mare basins, then the basalt breaking and folding to form the wrinkle ridges

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8
Q

What are rays and how are they formed?

A

Bright steaks coming out of a crater in all directions

Thought to be surface material deposited when craters are first formed

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9
Q

What are some similarities between the near and far side of the moon?

A

They both have craters

They both have maria

They both have mountain ranges

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10
Q

What are some differences between the near and far side of the moon?

A

The far side has many more craters

The craters on the far side are (in general) larger

The near side had many more maria, and they’re bigger

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11
Q

Why does the far side of the moon have more craters (that are generally larger)?

A

Due to the thicker crust on the far side, a meteor impact is less likely to break the crust and expose the mantle, therefore just leaving a crater.

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12
Q

Why does the far side of the moon have less maria?

A

Due to the thicket crust on the far side of the moon, a meteor impact would need to impact either more force in order to break the crust and expose the mantle.

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13
Q

What is a sidereal month and how long is it?

A

27.3 days

The time taken for the moon to orbit the earth once

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14
Q

What is a solar/synodic month and how long does it take?

A

29.5 days

The time between 2 full moons

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15
Q

What does “synchronous orbit” mean?

A

The period of rotation of the moon around the earth is equal to the period of rotation of the moon on its own axis.

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16
Q

What effect causes the moon’s rate of rotation to equal its rate of revolution?

A

Earth’s gravitational pull

(aka Tidal Locking)

17
Q

What is a revolution?

A

Orbiting around something

18
Q

What is the perigee?

A

The closest point in the moon’s orbit to earth

19
Q

What is the apogee?

A

The furthest point in the moon’s orbit to earth

20
Q

What two things match up when a supermoon occurs are:

A

Perigee

Full moon

21
Q

What are lunar librations?

A

Moon’s orbit is wobbly (therefore allows us to see different percentages of the moon)

22
Q

What are the similarities between the structure of the earth and the structure of the moon?

A

Made up of same layers (crust, mantle, outer core, inner core)

Inner core is smallest region for both

Crust is thinnest layer

Mantle is molten

Mantle is largest region for both

Both outer cores are liquid

Layers all made of the same materials

23
Q

What are the differences between the structure of the earth and the structure of the moon?

A

Outer core on moon takes up smaller fraction of moon’s volume that it does Earth’s volume

Much more uneven crust on moon

Crust thicker on far side of moon

Core of moon not in the centre- slightly shifted towards earth

Different magnetic fields - moon’s smaller due to less convection currents and smaller outer core

24
Q

Why are there more maria on the near side of the moon?

A

There’s less crust on the near side to stop meteors from breaking the crust.

25
Q

What are the main 2 reasons for lunar missions?

A

Collection of lunar rocks for analysis

Deployment of scientific experiments on the moon

26
Q

How are the moon phases formed?

A

Sunlight hitting one side of the moon, and the amount of the lit up side we see changes depending on where in it’s orbit around the earth the moon is (and the earth’s orbit around the sun).

27
Q

What is the giant impact theory?

A

Theory suggests:
- earth was hit by smaller planet while forming; debris from impact became moon

Believed because:
- moon’s orbit had similar orientation to earth’s spin
- moon samples indicate it was once molten: energy required could be supplied by giant impact

28
Q

What is the fission theory?

A

Theory suggests:
- earth spinning so fast that material broke off and began orbiting

Not believed because:
- theorises Pacific Ocean was scar of this event, but Pacific’s crust not old enough and oceanic crust not found built up in moon

29
Q

What is the capture theory?

A

Theory suggests:
- moon formed elsewhere as wandering body and earth’s gravitational pull captured it

Believed because:
- tidal locking, moon’s size, moon’s orbit

Not believed because:
- capture mechanism is a problem to understand

30
Q

What is the co-accretion/condensation theory?

A

Theory suggests:
- moon and earth formed at same time as each other

Not believed because:
- hypothesis doesn’t explain angular momentum of earth-moon cycle or why moon’s iron core is relatively smaller

31
Q

Where is the Tycho Crater?

A

Link

32
Q

Where is the Copernicus Crater?

A

Link

33
Q

Where is the Kepler Crater?

A

Link

34
Q

Where is the Apennine Mountain Range?

A

Link

35
Q

Where is the Sea of Crisis?

A

Link

36
Q

Where is the Sea of Tranquility?

A

Link

37
Q

Where is the Ocean of Storms?

A

Link

38
Q

What do each of the moon phases look like?

A

Link

Astronomy GCSE (Edexcel) (9 decks)

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