What is the shape of the bright part of the moon we see called? The origin of the moon

As we all know, the movement of the moon is divided into revolution and rotation. The moon is the only natural satellite of the earth. It was formed about 4.5 billion years ago and is the first extraterrestrial body landed by humans. So what is the shape of the bright part of the moon we see called? What is the origin of the moon? Encyclopedia Knowledge Network will take you to understand and learn.

Contents of this article

1. What is the shape of the bright part of the moon we see called?

2. The origin of the moon

3. The movement of the moon

What is the shape of the bright part of the moon we see called?

The moon itself does not emit light. The bright part of the moon is actually the part that reflects sunlight. In astronomy, the phases of the moon are the names of the parts of the moon that are illuminated by the sun as seen from different angles on the earth.

The moon is a spherical celestial body that revolves around the earth and is the earth's only natural satellite.

The constant changes in the relative positions of the sun, the earth, and the moon will result in different shapes of lunar phases.

The pattern of the moon's phases is new moon - crescent moon - first quarter moon - waxing gibbous - full moon - waning gibbous - last quarter moon - waning moon - new moon, repeating in a cycle. The moon's phases change cycle is about one month.

Origin of the Moon

There are four theories about the origin of the moon: the capture theory, which states that the moon is an asteroid orbiting near the Earth's orbit, which was captured by the Earth and became the Earth's satellite. The fission theory, which states that the Earth and the moon were originally a whole, and the moon split from the Earth. The common origin theory, which states that the Earth and the moon were formed from the same planetary dust cloud. The collision theory, which states that the moon was formed after the Earth collided with a small celestial body.

The Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite. It was formed about 4.5 billion years ago and is the first extraterrestrial body to be landed on by humans.

The moon's rotation and revolution periods are equal (called tidal locking), so the moon always faces the earth with the same side, and the earth's ocean tides are mainly caused by the gravitational pull of the moon.

The moon itself does not emit light, it only reflects sunlight. The average brightness of the moon is 1/465000 of the brightness of the sun.

The movement of the moon

The movement of the moon is divided into revolution and rotation. The moon's revolution is to revolve around the earth along an elliptical orbit with a period of 27.32 days. While revolving around the earth, the moon also rotates with a period of 27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes. Because the two periods are very close, we can usually only see one side of the moon.

The large circular surface intercepted by the elliptical orbital plane of the moon during its revolution is called the ecliptic, which does not coincide with the celestial equator, nor is it parallel to the ecliptic plane, and its position is constantly changing. The time it takes for the moon to rotate is exactly equivalent to a sidereal month, a phenomenon known as synchronous rotation or tidal locking.

The moon is commonly known as the moon. In ancient times, it was also called Chanjuan, Taiyin, etc. It is about 4.6 billion years old and is the fifth largest satellite in the solar system. It is also the only natural satellite of the earth. The surface of the moon is covered with many craters formed by the impact of small celestial bodies. The front side is filled with impact craters by dark volcanic eruptions, forming a vast plain, which is called the lunar sea.