Tidbits blasts off to the Moon!

TIDBITS ® BLASTS OFF TO

THE MOON

To honor the 50th anniversary of the first man on the moon, Tidbits heads into space to bring you the facts about this heavenly body.

• The moon is Earth’s only natural satellite. Compare that with Jupiter’s 79 moons, Saturn’s 62, Uranus’ 27, Neptune’s 14, and the two moons of Mars. Our moon is the fifth largest of its kind in our solar system, and is just a bit more than one-fourth the size of Earth.

• It’s a common scientific theory that the moon was once part of Earth, but a large chunk broke away when another gigantic object collided with Earth.

• The diameter of the moon is 2,160 miles. Compare that with Earth’s diameter at the equator of 7,926 miles.

• Although the distance between Earth and the moon varies from 221,457 to 252,712 miles, the average distance is 239,000 miles. If you were able to travel that distance by car, you could get to the moon in just under six months driving at 60 mph.

• The moon has no atmosphere, so there is no wind, no air, no water, and no life. This also means no sound can be heard on the moon. The lack of atmosphere eliminates any erosion due to weather.