The Moon

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. That means it travels around our planet in space. The Moon is the brightest thing we see in the night sky. It is made of rock and dust. The Moon does not make its own light. It shines because sunlight bounces off of it.

How the Moon Moves

The Moon goes around Earth one time about every 27 days. As it moves, we see different parts of it lit up by the Sun. These shapes are called phases. Sometimes the Moon looks like a full circle. Other times it looks like a thin curve called a crescent. The Moon also pulls on Earth's oceans. This makes the tides go up and down at the beach.

A drawing showing how a giant crash long ago may have made the Moon.
A drawing showing how a giant crash long ago may have made the Moon. (No machine-readable author provided. Dart evader~Jash assumed (based on copyright claims). / Wikimedia Commons)

People on the Moon

The Moon is the only place in space that people have walked on. In 1969, two American astronauts named Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon. They were part of a mission called Apollo 11. They wore big white space suits because the Moon has no air to breathe. Their footprints are still there today because there is no wind to blow them away.

Fun Facts

  • The Moon is about 238,900 miles away from Earth.
  • The Moon has lots of holes called craters, made by space rocks crashing into it.
  • You would weigh about six times less on the Moon than you do on Earth.

Did You Know?

The Moon is slowly moving away from Earth. It drifts about 1.5 inches farther away each year!