AST101H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Geology Of The Moon, Regolith, Basalt

• School: UTSG
• Department: Astronomy & Astrophysics
• Course: AST101H1
• Professor: Ian Shelton

Document Summary

Location the moon is the closest celestial object to the earth. Its average distance from the earth is approximately 238,000 miles. (the earth as seen from the moon 2. ) Size the moon"s diameter is 2,155 miles. Its surface area is about the same as. 1:1 spin-orbit 4 because the moon"s rotational period equals its orbital period it is said to be in synchronous rotation or a 1:1 spin-orbit. This is why we observe only one side of the moon (the nearside). Airless world because the moon is small, its gravity is not strong enough to hold on to an atmosphere; potential atmospheric gases can reach escape velocity. Black sky 5 because of the lack of a lunar atmosphere, the sky appears black (no color). In contrast, the earth"s atmospheric gases scatter sunlight causing its sky to appear primarily blue in color.