Jouney to the Center of the Moon.
The moon is a fascinating celestial body that has captured human imagination for centuries. Despite its proximity to Earth, there is still much to learn about the moon’s geological and elemental composition. In this blog post, we will delve into what we currently know about the moon’s makeup.
Firstly, let’s talk about the moon’s surface. The surface of the moon is covered in a layer of powdery dust known as regolith. This regolith is made up of various minerals, including silicon dioxide, iron oxide, and aluminum oxide. These minerals are what give the moon its distinctive gray color.
Credit: Wikimedia/Bryan Derksen
But what about the moon’s interior? Scientists believe that the moon has a solid core made up of iron and nickel, surrounded by a partially molten mantle 480 km in diameter. The mantle is then covered by the moon’s crust, which is composed of a variety of different rocks, including basalt and anorthosite.
One interesting thing to note about the moon’s composition is that it lacks any atmosphere. This means that the moon is unable to support life as we know it. However, the moon does have a small amount of water ice at its poles. This discovery has led scientists to speculate about the possibility of using the moon as a future space exploration base.
In addition to its geological composition, the moon is also rich in a variety of elements. One of the most abundant elements on the moon is oxygen, which is found in various forms, including silicon dioxide and iron oxide. Other elements found on the moon include helium, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen.
Overall, the geological and elemental composition of the moon is complex and fascinating. It has taken decades of research and exploration to piece together what we currently know about the moon’s makeup. As technology and research methods continue to improve, we can only imagine what other secrets the moon may hold.
| Moon | Earth | Ratio (Moon/Earth) |
|
| Mass (1024 kg) | 0.07346 | 5.9724 | 0.0123 |
| Volume (1010 km3) | 2.1968 | 108.321 | 0.0203 |
| Equatorial radius (km) | 1738.1 | 6378.1 | 0.2725 |
| Polar radius (km) | 1736.0 | 6356.8 | 0.2731 |
| Volumetric mean radius (km) | 1737.4 | 6371.0 | 0.2727 |
| Ellipticity (Flattening) | 0.0012 | 0.00335 | 0.36 |
| Mean density (kg/m3) | 3344 | 5514 | 0.606 |
| Surface gravity (m/s2) | 1.62 | 9.80 | 0.165 |
| Surface acceleration (m/s2) | 1.62 | 9.78 | 0.166 |
| Escape velocity (km/s) | 2.38 | 11.2 | 0.213 |
| GM (x 106 km3/s2) | 0.00490 | 0.39860 | 0.0123 |
| Bond albedo | 0.11 | 0.306 | 0.360 |
| Geometric albedo | 0.12 | 0.434 | 0.28 |
| V-band magnitude V(1,0) | -0.08 | -3.99 | - |
| Solar irradiance (W/m2) | 1361.0 | 1361.0 | 1.000 |
| Black-body temperature (K) | 270.4 | 254.0 | 1.065 |
| Topographic range (km) | 13 | 20 | 0.650 |
| Moment of inertia (I/MR2) | 0.394 | 0.3308 | 1.191 |
| J2 (x 10-6) | 202.7 | 1082.63 | 0.187 |
Author: Sunny Lummo