Earth Moon

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Moon : the earth’s natural satellite (see satellite 2a) that shines by the sun’s reflected light, revolves about the earth from west to east in about 291⁄2 days with reference to the sun or about 271⁄3 days with reference to the stars, and has a diameter of 2160 miles (3475 kilometers), a mean distance from the earth of about 238,900 miles (384,400 kilometers), and a mass about one eightieth that of the earth (often capitalized : usually used with the) — Merriam-Webster See also OneLook

Encyclopedia

The Moon is an astronomical body that orbits planet Earth, being Earth’s only permanent natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest natural satellite in the Solar System, and the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits (its primary). Following Jupiter’s satellite Io, the Moon is second-densest satellite among those whose densities are known. The average distance of the Moon from the Earth is 384,400 km (238,900 mi),[10][11] or 1.28 light-seconds. — Wikipedia

Moon (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Moon (COSMOS: The SAO Encyclopedia of Astronomy)

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Adventures

Explore related posts on Cosma …

Lunar Landings - Saturday, July 20th is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, and there’s a massive media blitz surrounding the occasion. Pretty much every major news outlet is covering it in some way, and it’s no surprise that NASA is leading the publicity frenzy. On Friday at 1 p.m. (EDT) NASA is broadcasting 50 … Continue reading Lunar Landings
Moon’scapes - There’s no denying that it’s been a rough week for many Earthlings. On the other hand, it’s been a great week for anyone who spends their time more preoccupied with the Moon than with more earthly concerns. That’s because there’s a treasure trove of news about our lunar realm. For example, NASA’s Goddard Media Studios … Continue reading Moon’scapes
Moon+H2O=Moonbase? - One of the big science stories in the news now is that Earth’s Moon has more water than scientists expected. Here is a link to just one of the hundreds of stories flooding news feeds. The Moon Has More Water Than Originally Thought (Scripps News, YouTube) This round of stories has been inspired by this … Continue reading Moon+H2O=Moonbase?
Octopuses from Space! - Did you hear the one about the octopuses from space? It sounds like the title of a cheesy sci-fi movie, doesn’t it? But it isn’t, this time, or at least, yet. Instead, it’s actually an oddball theory that’s been put forth in a recently published “scientific” article that’s getting quite a lot of buzz in … Continue reading Octopuses from Space!
Space Rocks! - NASA engineers had quite a New Years celebration in 2019 when New Horizons successfully executed a flyby of a tiny object named 2014 MU69 while moving at 32,000 miles per hour. The planetesimal 2014 MU69 is better known by it’s nickname Ultima Thule, and it’s located way out past Pluto in a region of the … Continue reading Space Rocks!
Umbraphiles - umbraphile : One who loves eclipses, often travelling to see them. You’ve probably heard about the April 8th solar eclipse (Wikipedia), and if you live near the path of totality, then you’ve probably also seen news stories like this one. Party in the Path of Totality at These Solar Eclipse Getaways Across New England (Kristi … Continue reading Umbraphiles

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Inspiration

Take a virtual tour of the Moon in all-new 4K resolution, thanks to data provided by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. As the visualization moves around the near side, far side, north and south poles, we highlight interesting features, sites, and information gathered on the lunar terrain. — NASA Goddard

NASA Goddard (YouTube Channel)
Goddard Space Flight Center (Official Website)

Solar System Treks are portals that allow you to visualize, explore, and analyze the surfaces of other worlds using real data returned from a growing fleet of spacecraft. You can view the worlds through the eyes of many different instruments, pilot real-time 3D flyovers above mountains and into craters, and conduct measurements of surface features. Moon Trek integrates a suite of interactive tools that incorporate observations from past and current lunar missions, creating a comprehensive lunar research Web portal. The interface provides navigation, 3D visualization, fly-overs, performance, and reliability. — Moon Trek

Moon Trek (Solar System Treks, NASA, JPL & Cal Tech)

The Moon (Astrum, YouTube Playlist)

Articles about the Moon (Big Think)

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Innovation

Science

Our Moon: the Moon (International Astronomical Union)
The Moon (NASA)

Earth’s Moon Videos (ViewSpace, Space Telescope Science Institute)

The Moon (Planetary Society)
Lunar Exploration (Lunar & Planetary Institute)

Moon (Eric Weisstein’s World of Astronomy, Wolfram Research)
Moon (Wolfram Alpha)

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Preservation

History

On 30 November 1609, Galileo aimed his telescope at the Moon. While not being the first person to observe the Moon through a telescope (English mathematician Thomas Harriot had done it four months before but only saw a “strange spottednesse”), Galileo was the first to deduce the cause of the uneven waning as light occlusion from lunar mountains and craters. In his study, he also made topographical charts, estimating the heights of the mountains. The Moon was not what was long thought to have been a translucent and perfect sphere, as Aristotle claimed. — Wikipedia

The Moon (The Galileo Project)
The View from Galileo’s Telescope (MicroObservatory, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian)

Exploring the moon: From Apollo to Artemis, A Timeline of Lunar Missions (New Scientist, YouTube Video)
About Lunar Exploration From Apollo to the Future (Lunar and Planetary Institute)

Moon Exploration (NASA Science)
NASA’s History (NASA)

Museum

Moon Online Exhibitions (Smithsonian)

Earth’s Moon (Exploring the Planets, National Air and Space Museum)

Library

DDC: 523.3 Moon (Library Thing)
Subject: Moon (Library Thing)

Subject: Moon (Open Library)

LCC: QB 580 Moon (UPenn Online Books)

LCC: QB 580 Moon (Library of Congress)
Subject: Moon (Library of Congress)

Subject: Moon (WorldCat)

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Participation

Education

The Moon – Level 1 (StarChild, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA)
The Moon – Level 2 (StarChild, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA)

Teach with the Moon (European Space Agency)

The Moon (Crash Course Astronomy, YouTube Video)

Earth’s Moons Learning Resources (National Air and Space Museum)

MERLOT: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching
OER Commons: Open Educational Resources

Community

Organization

Lunar Section (British Astronomical Association)

News

Moon (Nova Research Highlights, American Astronomical Society)
Earth’s Moon (EurekaAlert, AAAS)
The Moon (Astronomy Magazine)
Moon (JSTOR)
Moon (Science Daily)
Moon (Phys.org)

Recent News from Phys.org …

Robot successfully builds space structure in...
on November 6, 2026 at 4:20 pm
A robotic truss builder that was conceived, designed and built by Caltech researchers has successfully built a structure in space—without the help of astronauts—for the first time. The truss builder, part of DARPA's Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D) program, consists of an autonomous manipulator that picks up struts and joints held in nearby dispensers to repeatedly assemble identical sections, or bays, of a perimeter truss.
A galaxy nicknamed Misty Moons offers a glimpse...
on November 6, 2026 at 12:40 pm
Gravitational lensing is one of astronomy's best tricks for seeing the early universe. When a massive galaxy cluster sits in between the observer and a distant object, its gravity bends and magnifies the distant object's light, acting like a giant natural magnifying glass. Galaxies that would otherwise be too faint to spot suddenly come into view because of gravitational lensing.
Astronomers deliver the sharpest and deepest view...
on November 6, 2026 at 12:40 am
Using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), an international team led by Leiden University has produced the sharpest and most sensitive radio image of the sky ever made at low radio frequencies. The image reveals almost 63,000 radio sources, such as active galactic nuclei and star-forming galaxies, across a patch of sky about 25 times the area of the full moon. The results have been accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. The paper is currently available on the arXiv preprint […]
When Einstein's gravitational waves meet Newton's...
on November 5, 2026 at 3:40 pm
Newton's theory of gravity has described the tides accurately for centuries. But could a tiny trace of Einstein's general relativity also be hidden in them? In a new study, a mathematician at Freie Universität Berlin has outlined how a targeted approach could be used to search for effects of this nature.
Earth's slowing spin may have shaped its...
on November 5, 2026 at 3:20 pm
Around 4.5 billion years ago, a planet-sized object collided with the newly formed Earth, throwing out the debris that would later form the moon. The collision left Earth spinning extremely fast, with days lasting just two to five hours. Yet existing models of how Earth's first crust formed and evolved have largely overlooked how the planet's later slowdown might have affected it.