How Old is the Moon?
The moon has its own orbit where it rotates and revolves around the sun. Contrary to popular belief, the moon is not a luminous object. Its source of light is the sun. The moon reflects the light from the sun as it revolves around it.
The moon is the only natural satellite of our planet and it is the second largest component of the elements making up the solar system (after the sun). The moon was formed some years after the formation of the earth and other planets. The gravity between the planets caused movement of celestial materials which were subjected to heat and pressure causing them to coalesce forming bodies such as the moon.
Origin of the Moon
Many scientists and scholars have put forward numerous hypothesizes that try to explain how the moon came into existence. A popular hypotheses states that the moon was formed out of debris materials that coalesced during the big bang between the earth and Theia, which is a body of the planet Mars. This dates back 4.51 billion years ago. The astronauts together with researchers have been able to estimate this age of the moon through systematic analysis of fragmented rocked collected on the surface of the moon. The scientists were then able measure the amount of uranium in the rock that has decayed and transformed into lead. The rock fragments used in this analysis was that collected by the astronauts of Apollo 14 in the year 1971.
Moon Eclipse
A moon eclipse occurs when the moon, sun and the earth are all aligned with the earth being in the middle of them all. This creates a barrier to the moon in that it is blocked from reflecting light from the sun hence the name lunar eclipse which implies the moon is in the dark. This occurrence can only be experienced at night.
Life on the Moon
Researchers are still being done by the astronauts to ascertain claims made by some astronauts that indeed there is life on the surface of the moon.
Gravity
The gravitational force of the moon is associated with the high tides experienced in the water masses all over the globe. At times, the gravitational force of the moon is so strong that it causes tsunamis and massive destruction in some regions of the world. This happens when the moon revolves around the earth and settles over the water masses. The occurrences caused by the moon gravity are categorized as natural hazards since we cannot regulate its happenings.
