What Do We Know About The Moon?

Experts cannot tell why the different hemispheres of the satellite differ and whether bacteria brought from our planet can live on the Moon. At the same time, there is a lot of interesting information that is currently known about the Moon.

Formation of the lunar seas.

The satellite of the Earth is 17% covered with lunar seas. Some time ago, experts assumed that in fact on the Moon in the region of dark spots there are huge reservoirs. To date, it has become known that these lunar seas were formed from basalt released during numerous eruptions. Basalt is found in large quantities on our planet. The difference between the lunar material is that it completely lacks water, as well as much fewer volatile elements.

The dark color of these areas arose due to the fact that basalt contains a huge amount of iron and titanium. It is worth noting that the basaltic lava on the satellite is not as thick as on the ground, so those pools that form as a result of eruptions are completely smooth.

Mysteries of the far side of the moon.

Due to the fact that the Moon rotates around its axis and our planet in approximately the same period of time, people can constantly observe only one side of it. The second hemisphere sometimes becomes noticeable by a maximum of 59%. Specialists began to observe the second side of the Moon only in 1959 with the help of a special automatic station, called “Luna-3”. Despite this, until now it has been studied very little.

On the reverse side of the satellite, there are two huge seas. At the same time, scientists note that it is very badly damaged by impact craters. The reason for this has not yet been established. Of course, it can be assumed that the Earth partially covers one of the hemispheres of the Moon, so numerous meteorites do not fall on it. But it is worth paying attention to the fact that in fact, our planet covers more than 4% of the satellite’s surface. It is believed that on the visible side of the cosmic body, numerous craters are covered with a layer of lava, so they are less noticeable than those on the reverse side.

The composition of the earth’s crust and the moon is similar.

Scientists offer only two options for how the moon appeared. The first hypothesis suggests that a body whose dimensions reach the size of Mars collided with our planet. As a result of this collision, the matter of the Earth was divided and the upper shells were sent into near-Earth orbit. They could become the basis for the formation of the satellite in the future. If we take into account the chemical and mineral composition of the soil from the surface of the moon, then it is exactly the same as in the earth’s crust. The samples contained a minimal amount of metals, and volatile substances, in principle, could have completely evaporated a few million or even billions of years ago. It is worth noting that the satellite contains water in a bound state, which is located directly next to the poles of the moon. Experts believe that it could have been brought by comet nuclei or asteroids.

The second theory assumes the simultaneous formation of space objects from a sub planetary disk, but at the same time from completely different parts of it. The Earth was formed from the center of the disk, and the Moon, in turn, from the ring that surrounded it from the outside. This hypothesis looks more plausible and allows us to give an explanation for the fact that such a ratio of isotopes is present.

The life of terrestrial bacteria on the moon.

The satellite has no atmosphere. The moon has a low temperature and little water. Despite this, many experts believe that such conditions are sufficient for some types of bacteria to survive in them. For example, “Surveyor-3” was on the surface for more than 2.5 years and during this period it discovered an anaerobic bacterium, which on Earth mainly lives on the human body. The bacterium inexplicably got into the equipment during the preparation of the mission, was sent to the Moon, stayed there for quite a long time in very harsh conditions, and then returned to Earth again. However, she was not hurt at all.

It is worth noting that there is a heated debate about the bacterium because some experts believe that it could have gotten on the equipment already on its way back. Most likely, the answer to this question will be found very soon.