Little Digital
presents
Let's Explore the Moon
.png)
Copyright ©
Little Digital LLC.
All rights reserved.
Little Digital LLC.
All rights reserved.
.png)
Oh! Hi there!
I’d like you to meet Earth’s BFF:
The moon!
OK. First, let’s get our names straight.
Long ago, you humans didn’t know there were other moons.
So you just called your moon...
"The moon."
(Or Luna if you speak Latin.)
In 1610, super scientist Galileo Gaillei discovered four moons orbiting
Jupiter.
Humans realized the solar system actually had loads of moons!
But your moon was already used to her name.
So you kept it!
Earth and the moon have been together a long time.
About 4.5 billion years ago, a planet
crashed
into Earth.
The collision blasted tons of rock and dust into Earth’s
orbit.
Eventually,
gravity
pulled all this crud together into a sphere shape.
The moon was born!
The baby moon had tons of active volcanoes flooding its surface with lava.
But today, the moon is quiet.
It has very little
atmosphere.
But it does have lots of
Rocks,
dust,
craters,
and
mountains.
Your moon is always on the move.
It spins around on its
axis.
From Earth, it looks like the moon orbits every
29 days.
That’s because the Earth is spinning too!
The moon looks different at different times in its orbit.
These changing appearances are known as
Phases.
Sometimes the moon’s orbit takes it right between the Sun and Earth.
The moon blocks the sunlight, casting a shadow on Earth.
It's a
solar eclipse!
Sometimes, Earth passes between the sun and the moon.
Earth casts a shadow on the moon
It's a
Lunar eclipse!
The moon is the most recognizable object in the night sky.
But it’s much more than a friendly face in your bedroom window.
Earth’s gravity keeps the moon in orbit.
But the moon’s gravity tugs on Earth too.
This helps keep your planet from
wobbling.
This gives you stable
Seasons!
It also creates
ocean tides.
Yep, Earth and the moon go way back.
They’re two peas in a pod.
But there’s so much more of the solar system to see.
Let's keep
Exploring!!
More Stories from Little Digital
.png)
Fun Activities for Every Little Bean
Join the Little Digital community
Become a member and receive exclusive access and updates from the Little Digital library.
Sign Up
