Moon Lore and Trivia

Moon Lore and Trivia

Let your Minds wander Far back in Time, Long before the Beginnings of Life, back to When the Earth was still just a bubbling mass of Heated Rock. This was about 4 billion Years ago. The Sun and planets were still Young and Many Ill fated Protoplanets still Roamed the Solar System. The Earth was Fully formed and yet was not Quite a solid Mass. It’s outer Layers were still superheated as the last few Lingering rocks in it’s Orbit crashed into the Earth Surface. Yet by and Large the Earth was beginning to Cool into the Planet we now call Home. However, not all was calm and well.

From somewhere out in the Solar system a Protoplanet was slowly Spinning on a Doomed course. This Doomed body, which many have Dubbed Theia, was Fated to alter the evolution of Our planet Forever. Had there Been any Life on Earth to witness this Fateful day, they would have Seen for Weeks the Mars sized Theia growing larger in the sky. However the Turmoil of the collision would have Eradicated all Traces of Life, as simply as a boot crushes an Ant. Luckily Theia was not to hit the Earth Head on, as that would have easily destroyed both Celestial Bodies. Instead Theia crashed into just the Outer layers of the Earth. The Devastation of this Collision should not be Understated.

Theia was destroyed Utterly and a Large portion of the Earths Upper layers were Flung into Space. The Impact was so Intense that all of Theia was turned to Liquid, and the Force on the Earth caused a large portion of our Planets Rotation. For Decades and even Centuries after this fateful day Rock and Debris rained down on the Earth, However The last Remnants of Theia were slowly amassing a collection of Rock itself. Some Four Billion Years Later, we Can still Look up and See the remains of Theia Slowly Orbiting our World. The Results of the Impact changed the Course of our World in so many ways, and the Results have Stirred our Imagination since life first Saw the Light of the Moon at Night.

Symbology of the Moon

In Short, the Moon is the Polar Opposite of the Sun. The Sun is of Course linked to Daytime while the Moon is linked to the Nighttime. However, while True, this Association lacks the Depth on the Symbology. In many ways the Sun and Moon represent the Male and Female. The Sun representing the Male, the Yang, while the Moon represents the Female, the Yin. From a purely Observational point of view this relationship makes sense. The Sun is never Changing, it’s Rise and Set come everyday Regardless of conditions. This regularity is most typically Associated with the Male, Yang. The Sun also Dominates, allowing none but the Moon to be Seen it its Presence. Of course, the Moon is more Fickle. Her tune is Ever changing, though follows a Cycle of her own. Also the Light of the Moon is a Reflection of the Suns own rays, giving the Moon both a more Submissive and yet More Social role than the Sun. For these Reasons the Moon is given more Female traits, while the Sun is given Male traits. The Moon is the Social, the Emotional, the Outgoing and yet is the Moody, and the Unpredictable.

Now breaking away from the Stereotypical Male/Female division. The Sun and Moon also have Symbology in the Mind of an Individual. The Sun is of course the Light, that which Allows things to be Seen and Understood. It is the all Might Conscious Mind, whose Eyes seek to Understand and perhaps control the World. Again, the Moon falls into the Opposite role. It represents the Hidden currents in the Mind, The Hidden desires and Feelings. It is the aspect of the Mind that is more in Tune with the flow of Nature and Responds to these Currents in

Unforeseen Ways
. This is of Course the Unconscious Mind. Going even Deeper, the Moon is Connected to Our Dreams and Imagination. It is the Light in the Dark, that which Causes us to Reach out and Seek more from Life. It is also, In this Writers Opinion, One of the Prime reason why we Are so Interested in Space, in “What is Out There”. The Moon Serves as a Constant Reminder that there is something just Beyond the Sky.

Moon Trivia

1)How Likely is it to Find an Earth like Planet, with an Moon like ours? Answer: Not very Likely While this is slightly debatable due to the Idea that the Universe is Infinite it is rather unlikely to find a Moon as large as ours around a planet similar to Earth. From our Understanding of how Planets form the Terrestrial planets (rocky planets like Earth) do not form with Moons like the Jovian planets (large gas planets). This is due to the fact that the Terrestrial planets are far less massive than the Jovian's and also due to the small percentage of solid material out of which to form the Moons. However the biggest reason why it is Unlikely to find a Earth-like moon around a Terrestrial planet is due to the Unique origins of our Moon. As you hopefully read in my little narrative (or can easily read about elsewhere on the web) the Earth's Moon was formed by a collision between our early Planet and a Mars like planet. This unusual Origin is why it is unlikely to find a similarly Large Moon around a planet similar to Earth.

2)Why do we Only see One Face of the Moon? Answer: Tidal Locking As you more than likely know the Moon's gravity pulls the Waters of the Earth toward it causing Tides. Of course the Earths gravity also Pulls on the Moon only since the Earth has more gravity it actually causes the rock in the Moon to shift and bulge toward the Earth. Over millions of years this pull on the Moon has caused a sort of friction which caused the Moon's rotation to slow such that only one Face points to the Earth at any given time.

3)Among the Outer Planets there is an Interesting Phenomenon which is Caused by Moons. What is it? Answer: Rings Ok, I admit this Question is a little ambiguous, but Rings works better than most answers. You see Planetary Rings are caused by Moon's being torn apart by planetary gravity. The remains of the Moon are the debris we see as Rings.

4)Of the Moons explored so Far, Which is the most Geologically Active? Answer: Io One of Jupiter's Moons, Io was expected to be a rather dead and uninteresting moon, however pictures from the Cassini mission provided pictures which show many active Volcanoes on Io's surface. It is believed that the planet is heated through Orbital friction in a process known as Orbital resonance. Io's orbit aligns with some of the Outer moons of Jupiter periodically and the additional gravity causes frictional heating of Io's interior.

5)Which Moon has a Thicker Atmosphere than Earth? Answer: Titan One of Saturn's moons, Titan has approximately 1.5 times the atmosphere of the Earth and is larger than the Planet Mercury.

6)Which Moon has a very High chance of Supporting life? Answer: Europa Another of Jupiter's moons, Europa has liquid Water under its icy surface and this water makes it the best place to look for Life in our solar system.

7)If the Moon rises at Approximately Noon What Phase is it? Answer: 1st Quarter Due to its Angle with the Sun when the Moon rises at Noon and sets at midnight it is in its first Quarter phase.

8)During a total Lunar Eclipse the Moon turns a Reddish Color at Totality. Why? Answer: Because Red light passes through the Earth's Atmosphere Similar to why the Sky is blue, the Earth's atmosphere scatters blue light but lets red light pass through easily. This is the same reason why Sunsets and Sunrises appear to have a reddish color.

9)To date, which Planet has the most Discovered Moons? Answer: Jupiter The current count is over 100, though many of the moons are rather small.

10)Galileo’s Discovery of Moons around Jupiter was one of the Reasons he Promoted a Heliocentric Universe. Can you name all 4 Moons he Discovered? Answer: Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede Also known as the Galilean Moons, these were the first moons discovered beyond the Earth's Moon.