The Moon, that is, the Earth’s moon, is an astronomical body that orbits our planet and acts as its only permanent natural satellite. Maybe you already knew that it is the fifth largest satellite in the solar system and the largest among planetary satellites in relation to the size of the planet it orbits, but you may not know why the March moon is known as the “moon of the worm ”or the October moon as“ hunter’s moon ”. Today we tell you the origin and meaning of these popular satellite names.
The Moon, as the second densest satellite in our solar system (Io, Jupiter’s moon is the densest of all), was discovered in 1610 and is at a distance of 384 400 km from Earth.
Our satellite, unlike Earth, has no atmosphere, so it is not protected from cosmic rays, meteorites, and solar winds. Apart from having enormous variations in temperature, the fact that the Moon does not have an atmosphere means that you cannot hear any sound there and the sky is always dark like night.
Although it seems to you that, from here, from the Earth, the Sun and the Moon appear to be the same size, do not be fooled. It is because the Moon is about 400 times closer to the Earth than the Sun that we believe they are the same size. Nothing is further from reality. The size of the Sun is 696,340 km and that of the Moon, 1,737 km.
And another curiosity. Although our satellite appears perfectly round in the night sky when there is a full moon, it is actually more oval in shape. Something like a lemon. Earth’s gravitational forces are believed to have helped exaggerate the Moon’s oblong appearance for eons.
Did you know that during the 1950s, the United States considered detonating a nuclear bomb on it? The project was named A119 and represented a show of force to the Soviet nation during the Cold War era.
