Section 2 - The Earth’s Moon Flashcards
What are the main surface features of the moon?
The main surface features of the moon are highlands, Maria, craters, and rilles.
How might the moon’s craters and rilles have formed?
Scientist think that because of the continuous bombardment of meteorites, crater’s have appeared on the moon. They also believe rilles formed because of rivers of flowing lava, moonquakes, or the rilles may have opened up when the moon’s hot surface cooled and shrank.
Why is a day on the moon the same length as a year on the moon?
The moon rotates once on its axis every 27.3 days. This is the same amount of time it takes for the moon to revolve once around the Earth.
Describe the first possible theory to explain the origin of the moon.
The moon may have been formed millions or billions of kilometers away from the Earth and later “captured” by the Earth’s gravity.
Describe a second theory to explain the origin of the moon.
The moon was formed from the same swirling cloud of gas and dust from which the sun, Earth, and other planets were formed.
Describe a third theory to explain the origin of the moon.
The moon was born when a giant asteroid the size of the planet Mars struck the early Earth, tearing a chunk of material from the planet.
What is the name of one of the largest craters on the moon?
Copernicus
The moon has no ________ or __________________.
Water or atmosphere
How does the moon revolve around the Earth.
It revolves the Earth in an elliptical orbit.
How many possible theories are there to explain the origin of the moon?
There are three theories.
