Calling all budding young space cadets! Join us as we head into the universe to discover ten fascinating facts about the Moon

10 facts about the Moon

  • 1) The Moon is a dusty ball of rock, measuring 3,476km in diameter – that’s roughly a quarter of the size of Earth.
  • 2) Its surface is home to mountains, huge craters and flat planes called ‘seas’ made of hardened lava.

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  • 3) The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite – a celestial body that orbits a planet. Its orbit around our planet is shaped like a slightly squashed circle known as an ellipse.Facts about the moon - image 2
  • 4) It takes 27.3 days for the Moon to travel all the way around the Earth and complete its orbit.
  • 5) Although the Moon shines bright in the night sky, it doesn’t produce its own light. We see the Moon because it reflects light from the Sun.
  • 6) Ever noticed how the Moon appears to change shape each night? That’s because as the Moon orbits the Earth, the Sun lights up different parts of its surface – so it’s just our view of the Moon that’s changing, not the Moon itself. Find out more in our fascinating phases of the Moon feature!Facts about the moon - image 1
  • 7) As the Moon travels, it rotates on its own axis, just like our planet. It takes roughly the same amount of time for the Moon to make a full rotation as it does for it to complete its orbit. This means we only ever see around 60% of the Moon’s surface from Earth! The part that faces Earth is known as the ‘near side’ and the other, the ‘far side’.
  • 8) The temperature on the Moon varies from super hot to super cold! When the Sun hits its surface, temperatures can reach a scorching 127°C. But when the Sun ‘goes down’, temperatures can plummet to around -153°C. BrrFacts about the moon - image 2
  • 9) Like Earth, the Moon has gravity (the force that pulls things towards the ground). But the Moon’s gravity is weaker, only one sixth of the Earth’s gravity, in fact. That means you’d weigh much less if  you were to stand on the Moon!
  • 10) Scientists aren’t entirely sure how the Moon formed. A popular theory is that a Mars-sized rock, named Theia, crashed into Earth around 4.5 billion years ago. The debris from the collision clumped together to make what is now… Our Moon!

What do you think of our facts about the Moon? Out of this world, right?! Leave a comment below and let us know…

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COMMENTS

  • Aubrey ^^

    I'm doing a project for school and I never knew this much about the moon!

  • tiffany.butler

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    I enjoyed reading your facts about the moon.

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    Thanks(❁´◡`❁)

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  • Oak Home learning Tuesday 30th  June – Ellel St John's CE Primary School

    […] https://www.natgeokid s.com/uk/discover/scie nce/space/facts-about- the-moon/ […]

  • Maths and English – Tuesday 30th June | Year 6 Hall Blog

    […] Then, read : Reading 2 […]

  • Maths and English – Tuesday 30th June | Year 6 Park Blog

    […] Then, read : Reading 2 […]

  • Tuesday’s English lesson | Year Six

    […] Facts about the Moon! […]

  • Nice

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    it's good

  • WOW

    THIS IS GREAT!!!!

  • hi

    the moon can't have been formed like that because the world wasn't formed 4.5 billion years ago

  • Hannah

    You have such GOOD facts!

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  • CHUMPY

    EPIC FACTS

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    good

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    Cool fact

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    I love the moon Great work learning all of these facts about the moon

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    awesome facts!

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    cool info

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    you should add some connection

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    These are very interesting

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    thanks for the three facts about the moon

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    I love space and I dint know that the earth spins faster then the moon

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    Hi

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    the mooon

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    well done.

  • Brodie

    I didn’t know that the moon can get as hot as 127 degrees

  • Afaf

    Nice! I already knew some of these but the rest were very surprising...

  • I didn’t know that the moon can get as hot as 127 degrees Celsius when the sun hits it’s surface!

  • Jai

    Cool facts bro

  • 1/2 Silver

    1/2 Silver have enjoyed reading and talking about National Geographic's interesting facts about the Moon. We mainly liked being educated on the different temperatures and learning that the Moon itself does not change shape, but the reflection of the Sun on the Moon makes it appear to change shape. We are all eager to learn more about our Moon. Together 1/2 Silver gave you a 5/5 Moons!

  • Austin

    Thanks for all the awesome facts!

  • #moon

    These are some interesting facts about the moon that I have never heard before, my question is "how did all the planets appear ( including the sun ) and how big is the universe.

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    Climb aboard get ready to explore

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    I was the first man on the moon.

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  • EdenTheBest

    50 years since Apollo 11

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    Okay.

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    I really liked how you explained all the facts about the moon, and all the details. I really liked how you put it together.

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  • Delysia

    they give a lot of information on the moon when you can read it slowly so you don't loose your place. NEXT TIME MORE FACTS

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    can you get all the facts and information pls so when I do my moon homework again I have more home work :Dhttps://www.natgeokids.com/wp-content/themes/natgeokids/images/avatars/ht_1.png

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  • Facts about the Moon! – Year Three ML

    […] https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/science/space/facts-about-the-moon/ […]

  • Rainbow

    Nicee i had a project on it and it really was help ful thanks :D

  • dana

    my teacher told me to go on here and it's just amazing.

  • TRUE

    i love your video about dinosaurs it was so good

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