earth orbit

the moon

By <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jessie_Eastland" title="User:Jessie Eastland">Jessie Eastland</a> - <span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

By <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Earth-Moon.PNG" title="File:Earth-Moon.PNG">File:Earth-Moon.PNG</a>: Earth-image from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/136067main_bm5_1.jpg">NASA</a>; arrangement by brews_ohare derivative work <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Cmglee" title="User:Cmglee">Cmglee</a> - <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Earth-Moon.PNG"></a> <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Earth-Moon.PNG" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a> <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Earth-Moon.PNG#filelinks" title="File:Earth-Moon.PNG">Earth-Moon.PNG</a>, Public Domain, Link

History

There have been many theories as to how the moon revolving around our planet Earth came to be. The most accepted at this point is that shortly after the formation of our Solar System there was another planet sharing the orbit around the Sun with Earth.

This planet was about the size of Mars and at one point more than 5 billion years ago this planet (named Theia after the Titan who was the mother to Selene – the Goddess of the Moon) collided with Earth. This collusion effectively obliterated Theia leaving one (possibly two) long trail(s) of ejected matter extending out from the Earth that would eventually form bands around the Earth held in place by Earth’s gravitation field.

The effect on the Earth was also catastrophic, raising temperatures on the surface of the planet to 10,000 degrees centigrade. Over time the matter ejected from the collusion would coalesce into the Moon.

The main proof behind the popular current theory that there were two, not one streams of ejected matter is that on the side of the moon that never faces the Earth (the dark side) are highlands that could only have formed when the second stream of matter scattered across the surface of the Moon. The low gravity no atmosphere Moon cannot create landforms through such methods of plane tectonics and weathering as the Earth does.

As mentioned above, one side of the Moon continually faces the Earth while the so-called dark side of the Moon faces away. This is because while the Moon does revolve around the Earth causing all the phases we see on a monthly basis, but it does not rotate as the Earth does, giving us our slightly less than 24 hour cycle of night and day.

The Moon’s gravitation pull on Earth both keeps it in orbit around us and is the cause of the tides in the Earth’s oceans.

The Moon is slowly moving further away from the Earth on a cosmic time scale but at its current distance it is nearly the same size of the Sun when viewed from Earth – hence it can cause total Solar Eclipses.

For example, during the time of the dinosaurs the moon would have appeared much bigger in the sky at night. When the first life was formed on Earth the moon would have gigantic in the sky.

The Moon is the only celestial body that has been landed on by members of the human race to date. Historical accepted fact says only the United States has ever put a man on the moon; although the Soviet Union (comprising of present day Russia as well as other Republics) has landed on the moon with unmanned probes.

In the 21st Century Japan, China, India, the European Space Agency and the United States have sent orbital platforms to the Moon.

Currently, there are governmental and private manned missions being planned to visit the Moon. The Moon is covered by the Outer Space Treaty and therefore cannot be owned by any country or corporation.

It is free for anyone to explore for peaceful purposes with the means of getting to it.

Strangeness

Ah la luna, la luna. The Moon is one of the most constant aspects reflected in all of Earth’s many cultures both present and past. It has been a Goddess in many legends and (as everyone knows) human sacrifice is all more powerful when done under the light of the full moon.

The full moon is said to result in people acting strangely (dare I say crazy); which is the main origin of the were-wolf legends. (Were-wolves will be covered in more detail in an upcoming Cryptozoology article). Although were-wolves are most likely not real; it is a proven fact that the full moon does have a negative effect on the psyche of some human beings and animals.

The actual celestial body we called the Moon has also had some strange stories and legends come about by those who have actually landed on it. According the official NASA records Apollo 17 was the last manned mission to the Moon. Apollo 18, 19 and 20 are said to have been scrapped due to budgetary issues.

And, of course, there are many people who believe that every manned mission to the Moon was faked and no one has ever been there at all.

As covered in detail in the 2011 film “Apollo 18″ there may have been further manned missions to the Moon after Apollo 17. Apollo 18 may have been a secret military mission to the Moon to place tracking devices on the surface to provide early warning of Soviet nuclear missile launches (other theories say that weapons capable of destroying these said missiles were the mission).

However, its possible Apollo 18 did in actuality find proof of extra terrestrial life and came into direct contact with an alien virus contained in the rocks of the Moon which resulted in the deaths of both astronauts that landed on the surface.

It is also thought that the Apollo 18 astronauts may have also found the remains of a manned mission by the Soviet Union – both Soviet astronauts (cosmonauts) were also killed either by the alien virus or by direct contact with an intelligent extra-terrestrial life forms.

Little is known of the fate of Apollo 19, but it is thought that they located an alien spacecraft on the surface of the dark side of the Moon which was later photographed by Apollo 20. Apollo 20 is said to have been a joint American-Soviet mission sent out to contact the alien lifeforms and there is even a video taken of a supposed alien form but its truth is easily questioned.

In modern times these stories have become a conspiracy theory wrapped in other conspiracies such as “alien abduction”. “Area 51″ and our governments currently having frequent contact with alien(s) that they hide from the general public.

It is, of course, up to each and every individual to believe in any part of these stories – or all or none of it.

What keeps me awake at night is the alien virus (lifeforms) which are probably quite lethal to life on Earth being contained in moon rocks. There are, after all, tons of moon rocks that have been brought back to Earth and no one knows where they all are today.