The Saturday Seven: Facts About The Moon

I returned home to Palm Springs last night after several days of travel for business. It was a productive and enjoyable trip, but its always good to be back home. I sat outside by the pool with a glass of wine in front of the fireplace, watching the flames dance around merrily. I leaned back in my chair and stared up at the desert sky. The stars softly dotted the dark expanse. It was punctuated by a waning crescent moon, with only about a 10% sliver showing, yet its glow was like a song in the night. I have always marveled at the moon's beauty. This became the inspiration for another scintillating edition of The Saturday Seven: Facts About The Moon.

1. The surface area of the moon is 14,658,000 square miles or 9.4 billion acres. which is about 1/4 the size of the Earth.

2. The Moon was formed about 4.5 billion years ago

3. The Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite and is the fifth largest natural satellite in the Solar System.

4. An Orange Moon is an effect caused by the atmosphere of the Earth.

5. The Moon makes a complete orbit around the Earth every 27.3 days. However, since the Earth is moving in its orbit about the Sun at the same time, it takes slightly longer for the Moon to show its same phase to Earth, which is about 29.5 days.

6. The Moon is the only body in our Solar System to which humans have travelled and landed.

7. During the lunar day, the surface temperature averages 107°C, and during the lunar night, it averages -153°C. YIKES.

Thanks for stopping by today. If you have a comment or fun fact about the Moon, please leave a comment!

-Rick Rockhill