The moon is a natural satellite of our planet. Its influence is so great that astronomers often speak of the Earth-Moon bond not as a planet and satellite, but as a double planet. Until now, disputes about its origin have not subsided. Let's try to figure them out.

What is this strange "planet"?

The Moon influences almost every area of ​​life on Earth, and the history of human civilization has been no exception. Even mammoth hunters counted days by the phases of the moon. For the first civilizations, the Earth's satellite was a deity, in whose power was the most important thing - the agricultural cycle. In most ancient civilizations, the Moon was considered a powerful goddess, to whom temples were erected and sacrifices (sometimes human) were made. Eclipses of the Moon caused horror - the deity covered his face in anger, disasters are coming! In the Middle Ages, the Moon was considered the habitat of angels; in the Enlightenment, people indulged in dreams of a Selenite race living on the night star. Scientific progress quickly destroyed these naive notions. The moon turned out to be a small planet, lifeless and unattractive (from a human point of view). But it also turned out that the influence of our satellite on the processes taking place on Earth is very large - probably, without the Moon, the biosphere could not exist on Earth, and our planet would look like Mars or Venus. After all, it is the presence of the Moon that determines the most important climatic parameter - the inclination of the planet's axis of rotation relative to the plane of its orbit, which determines the nature of the change of seasons.

It is known from the laws of celestial mechanics that the tilt of the axis of rotation of the planets is subject to fluctuations, an example of which is our neighbor Mars. As calculations performed by astronomers show, the angle between the equator of Mars and the plane of its orbit has changed significantly. But the surface of the Red Planet contains numerous signs of a different past - channels, channels, sedimentary rocks (traces of ancient seas!). In the distant past, the planet's climate was warmer, and liquid water, and possibly life, existed on its surface. But there was some kind of catastrophe, and Mars turned into an icy desert. Studies show that the most likely reason for the "freezing" of Mars was a change in the angle of the Martian axis. For the Earth, even an insignificant change in the angle of inclination of the axis to the plane of the ecliptic (by a value of the order of a degree) can provide an ice age. Meanwhile, Mars was turning tens of degrees, so grandiose climatic disasters on it were inevitable. But for the Earth, the angle of inclination of the axis relative to the plane of the orbit varied by no more than one or two degrees, which ensured amazing (by the standards of other planets) climate stability. A natural question arises - what is the reason for the unique stability of our planet?

How does the moon help us?

Most scientists believe that we must thank the Moon for the stability of the earth's rotation (and, accordingly, climate) - it is thanks to her that chaotic fluctuations in the angle of inclination do not threaten the Earth. The hypothetical absence of a large satellite near the Earth would create conditions for very strong fluctuations in the angle between the equator and the orbit, which would make the climate on Earth unsuitable for life.

The beneficial role of the Moon was not limited to this, contributing to the emergence of life: it caused tides that contributed to the aeration of the seas. Perhaps even life itself first originated in the intertidal zone! The movement of the moon across the sky affects the life cycles of many organisms - horseshoe crabs (marine arthropods, distantly related to crayfish and crabs), which spawn only during a certain phase of the moon, are a prime example.

It undoubtedly influenced the history of mankind. As an ideal celestial chronometer, the Earth's satellite significantly accelerated the appearance of the first calendars. Observations of the Moon (the closest celestial body) played a huge role in the development of astronomy. From them, ancient scientists concluded that the planets were spherical, and the movement of the Moon and its connection with the sea tides made it possible in the 17th century to formulate the laws of universal gravitation.

Later observations of the Moon contributed to the development of planetary science - after all, no other planet (except the Earth) has been studied in such detail! However, with the accumulation of knowledge about the moon, a number of questions arose. The origin of the Moon remained the biggest mystery - many hypotheses of the origin of the night star were put forward, but not one of them could explain all the facts. What are the main features of our satellite that caused such difficulties for scientists?

We list the main ones:

• the average density of the Moon is much less than the average density of the Earth, since the Moon has a very small core (if the Earth has about 30% of the planet's mass, then the Moon has no more than 2-3%);
• the content of heavy elements (thorium, uranium, titanium) is increased on the Moon;
• but the ratio of oxygen isotopes in the earth and lunar crust is almost the same (and in fact it varies greatly among different planets and meteorites from different parts of the solar system);
• the lunar crust is much thicker than the earth's, which presumably indicates that all of its constituent matter was once melted (but the Earth is believed to have never been completely melted);
• finally, the plane of the moon's orbit does not coincide with the equatorial plane of the earth.

Among the numerous assumptions about the mechanism of the origin of our satellite, three hypotheses at different times gained the greatest popularity among scientists. Let's talk about them.

Hypotheses of the origin of the moon

According to one of these hypotheses, our companion was once an "independent" small planet of the solar system, revolving around the sun. However, at some point, the free Moon came too close to the Earth - and the force of gravity captured it and transferred it to a new orbit, where the Moon was destined to revolve around our planet as a satellite.

Alas, the calculations showed that this hypothesis cannot explain the features of the lunar orbit, and the similarity of the elements of the earth and lunar crust discovered after flights to the moon put a fat cross on the “capture” version. Another popular hypothesis was the joint formation of the Earth and the Moon (this hypothesis was put forward by the great Immanuel Kant). In accordance with it, the Moon and the Earth were formed simultaneously - from one gas and dust cloud. The emerging proto-Earth gained such a mass that the particles of the cloud began to rotate already in their orbits around it, gradually forming the proto-Moon.

This hypothesis is partly confirmed by the similarity of the isotopes of the Earth and the Moon, but this model does not explain the features of the lunar orbit at all.

To explain these contradictions, the American astronomers Bill Hartmann and Donald Davis in 1975 put forward the impact (i.e., “impact”) hypothesis, which is currently considered the main one. According to it, when the solar system was just emerging, from a gas and dust cloud revolving around the sun, two protoplanets formed at once in the orbit of the future Earth - one of them was the young Earth, and the other (it was smaller, about the size of Mars) received the name Theia. Under the influence of gravity, the planets began to converge, and 4.4 billion years ago, a grandiose catastrophe finally occurred - a collision of the planets. The blow, fortunately, fell on a tangent. Theia was destroyed, and the molten bowels of the earth from the impact splashed out into near-Earth orbit. The Moon was formed from this substance in about a hundred years. The impact spun the Earth - that's where the quick (in comparison, for example, with Venus) change of days and nights comes from. This hypothesis well explains both the inclination of the lunar orbit, and the similarity of oxygen isotopes on Earth and on the Moon, and the strange internal structure of the Moon. However, new research published in the journal Nature deals a death blow to these views.

After conducting a detailed study of samples of lunar rocks mined by expeditions of the Apollo series spacecraft in the 70s of the 20th century, specialists from the University of Washington issued a negative verdict on the impact hypothesis: “If the old theory were correct, then more than half of the lunar rocks would consist of material from the impactor planetoid earth. But instead, we see that the isotopic composition of the moon's fragments is very specific. The heavy isotopes of potassium found in the samples could only have formed when exposed to incredibly high temperatures. Only a very powerful collision, in which the planetoid and most of the Earth would evaporate on contact, can cause a similar effect.

As a result, scientists proposed a new theory: instead of a colossal collision of planets, there were multiple collisions with smaller asteroids. The asteroid bombardment threw enough debris into the Earth's orbit to form several small satellites, which eventually merged into one large one. This "Protoluna" continued to absorb objects in orbit until it was left in splendid isolation.

The authors of the study argue that their hypothesis best fits the findings. However, there were immediately skeptics who pointed out that the new hypothesis of the origin of the moon does not explain all the oddities of the night star. So it’s too early to put an end to the debate about the Moon - the Earth’s satellite still retains its secret ...

In 1609, after the invention of the telescope, humanity was able to examine its space satellite for the first time in detail. Since then, the Moon has been the most studied cosmic body, as well as the first one that a person managed to visit.

The first thing to be dealt with is what is our satellite? The answer is unexpected: although the Moon is considered a satellite, technically it is the same full-fledged planet as the Earth. She has large dimensions - 3476 kilometers across at the equator - and a mass of 7.347 × 10 22 kilograms; The moon is only slightly inferior to, the smallest planet in the solar system. All this makes it a full-fledged participant in the Moon-Earth gravitational system.

Another such tandem in the solar system is also known, and Charon. Although the entire mass of our satellite is a little more than a hundredth of the mass of the Earth, the Moon does not revolve around the Earth itself - they have a common center of mass. And the proximity of the satellite to us gives rise to another interesting effect, tidal capture. Because of it, the Moon is always turned to the Earth with the same side.

Moreover, from the inside, the Moon is arranged as a full-fledged planet - it has a crust, a mantle and even a core, and volcanoes existed on it in the distant past. However, nothing remains of the ancient landscapes - over the course of four and a half billion years of the Moon's history, millions of tons of meteorites and asteroids fell on it, which plowed it, leaving craters. Some blows were so strong that they broke through her bark right down to her mantle. The pits from such collisions formed the lunar seas, dark spots on the Moon, which are easily distinguishable from. Moreover, they are present exclusively on the visible side. Why? We will talk about this further.

Among the cosmic bodies, the Moon influences the Earth the most - except, perhaps, the Sun. The lunar tides, which regularly raise the water level in the world's oceans, are the most obvious, but not the strongest impact of the satellite. So, gradually moving away from the Earth, the Moon slows down the rotation of the planet - a sunny day has grown from the original 5 to the modern 24 hours. And the satellite also serves as a natural barrier against hundreds of meteorites and asteroids, intercepting them on approach to the Earth.

And without a doubt, the Moon is a tasty object for astronomers: both amateurs and professionals. Although the distance to the Moon has been measured to within a meter using laser technology, and soil samples from it have been repeatedly brought to Earth, there is still room for discoveries. For example, scientists are hunting for lunar anomalies - mysterious flashes and auroras on the surface of the moon, not all of which have an explanation. It turns out that our satellite hides much more than what is visible on the surface - let's figure out the secrets of the moon together!

Topographic map of the moon

Characteristics of the Moon

The scientific study of the moon is over 2200 years old today. The movement of a satellite in the Earth's sky, the phases and distance from it to the Earth were described in detail by the ancient Greeks - and the internal structure of the Moon and its history are being studied to this day by spacecraft. Nevertheless, centuries of work by philosophers, and then by physicists and mathematicians, have provided very accurate data about how our Moon looks and moves, and why it is the way it is. All information about the satellite can be divided into several categories, mutually following from each other.

Orbital characteristics of the Moon

How does the moon move around the earth? If our planet were motionless, the satellite would rotate in an almost perfect circle, from time to time slightly approaching and moving away from the planet. But after all, the Earth itself around the Sun - the Moon has to constantly "catch up" with the planet. And our Earth is not the only body with which our satellite interacts. The Sun, which is 390 times farther from the Earth than the Moon, is 333,000 times more massive than the Earth. And even taking into account the inverse square law, according to which the intensity of any energy source drops sharply with distance, the Sun attracts the Moon 2.2 times stronger than the Earth!

Therefore, the final trajectory of our satellite resembles a spiral, and even a difficult one. The axis of the lunar orbit fluctuates, the Moon itself periodically approaches and moves away, and on a global scale it completely flies away from the Earth. The same oscillations lead to the fact that the visible side of the Moon is not the same hemisphere of the satellite, but its different parts, which alternately turn towards the Earth due to the "swaying" of the satellite in orbit. These movements of the Moon in longitude and latitude are called librations, and allow you to look beyond the far side of our satellite long before the first flyby of spacecraft. From east to west, the Moon rotates 7.5 degrees, and from north to south - 6.5. Therefore, from the Earth it is easy to see both poles of the Moon.

The specific orbital characteristics of the Moon are useful not only to astronomers and astronauts - for example, photographers especially value the supermoon: the phase of the moon in which it reaches its maximum size. This is a full moon during which the moon is at perigee. Here are the main parameters of our satellite:

• The Moon's orbit is elliptical, its deviation from a perfect circle is about 0.049. Taking into account fluctuations in orbits, the minimum distance of the satellite to the Earth (perigee) is 362 thousand kilometers, and the maximum distance (apogee) is 405 thousand kilometers.
• The common center of mass of the Earth and the Moon is located 4.5 thousand kilometers from the center of the Earth.
• A sidereal month - the complete passage of the Moon in its orbit - takes 27.3 days. However, for a complete revolution around the Earth and a change in the lunar phases, it takes 2.2 days more - after all, during the time that the Moon goes in its orbit, the Earth flies by the thirteenth part of its own orbit around the Sun!
• The moon is in a tidal lock on the Earth - it rotates around its axis at the same speed as around the Earth. Because of this, the Moon is constantly turned to the Earth by the same side. This condition is typical for satellites that are very close to the planet.

• Night and day on the Moon are very long - half an Earth month.
• In those periods when the Moon comes out from behind the globe, it can be seen in the sky - the shadow of our planet gradually slides from the satellite, allowing the Sun to illuminate it, and then closes it back. Changes in the illumination of the Moon, visible from the Earth, are called her. During the new moon, the satellite is not visible in the sky, in the phase of the young moon its thin crescent appears, resembling a curl of the letter “P”, in the first quarter the moon is exactly half lit, and during the full moon it is noticeably best. Further phases - the second quarter and the old moon - occur in reverse order.

An interesting fact: since the lunar month is shorter than the calendar month, sometimes there can be two full moons in one month - the second is called the “blue moon”. It is as bright as an ordinary full - it illuminates the Earth at 0.25 lux (for example, normal lighting inside a house is 50 lux). The Earth itself illuminates the Moon 64 times stronger - as much as 16 lux. Of course, all the light is not your own, but reflected sunlight.

• The Moon's orbit is inclined to the plane of the Earth's orbit and crosses it regularly. The inclination of the satellite is constantly changing, varying between 4.5° and 5.3°. It takes more than 18 years to change the inclination of the moon.
• The moon moves around the earth at a speed of 1.02 km/s. This is much less than the speed of the Earth around the Sun - 29.7 km / s. The maximum spacecraft speed achieved by the Helios-B solar probe was 66 kilometers per second.

Physical parameters of the Moon and its composition

In order to understand how big the Moon is and what it consists of, it took people a long time. Only in 1753, the scientist R. Boshkovich managed to prove that the Moon does not have a significant atmosphere, as well as liquid seas - when covered by the Moon, the stars disappear instantly, when the presence would make it possible to observe their gradual “fading”. It took another 200 years for the Soviet Luna-13 station in 1966 to measure the mechanical properties of the lunar surface. And nothing was known about the far side of the Moon until 1959, when the Luna-3 apparatus failed to take its first pictures.

The crew of the Apollo 11 spacecraft brought the first samples to the surface in 1969. They also became the first people to walk on the moon - until 1972, 6 ships landed on it, and 12 astronauts landed. The reliability of these flights was often doubted - however, many points of criticism came from their ignorance in space affairs. The American flag, which, according to conspiracy theorists, “could not fly in the airless space of the Moon,” is in fact solid and static - it was specially reinforced with solid threads. This was done specifically to make beautiful pictures - the sagging canvas is not so spectacular.

Many of the distortions in colors and landforms in the reflections on the helmets of the spacesuits in which counterfeiting was sought were due to the gold plating on the UV-protective glass. Soviet cosmonauts, who watched the broadcast of the landing of the astronauts in real time, also confirmed the authenticity of what was happening. And who can deceive an expert in his field?

And complete geological and topographic maps of our satellite are compiled to this day. In 2009, the LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) space station not only delivered the most detailed images of the Moon in history, but also proved the presence of a large amount of frozen water on it. He also put an end to the debate about whether there were people on the moon by filming the traces of the Apollo team from low orbit of the moon. The device was equipped with equipment from several countries of the world, including Russia.

As new space nations like China and private companies get involved in lunar exploration, new data is coming in every day. We have collected the main parameters of our satellite:

• The surface area of ​​the Moon is 37.9 x 10 6 square kilometers - about 0.07% of the total area of ​​the Earth. Incredibly, this is only 20% more than the area of ​​​​all human-inhabited areas on our planet!
• The average density of the Moon is 3.4 g/cm3. It is 40% less than the density of the Earth - primarily due to the fact that the satellite is deprived of many heavy elements like iron, which our planet is rich in. In addition, 2% of the mass of the Moon is regolith - a small crumb of stone created by cosmic erosion and meteorite impacts, the density of which is lower than ordinary rock. Its thickness in some places reaches tens of meters!
• Everyone knows that the Moon is much smaller than the Earth, which affects its gravity. The acceleration of free fall on it is 1.63 m/s 2 - only 16.5 percent of the entire force of gravity of the Earth. The astronauts' jumps on the moon were very high, even though their spacesuits weighed 35.4 kilograms - almost like knightly armor! At the same time, they were still holding back: falling in a vacuum was quite dangerous. Below is a video of the astronaut jumping from a live broadcast.

• The lunar seas cover about 17% of the entire Moon - mainly its visible side, which is covered by them by almost a third. They are traces of impacts of especially heavy meteorites, which literally tore off its crust from the satellite. In these places, only a thin, half-kilometer layer of hardened lava - basalt - separates the surface from the Moon's mantle. Since the concentration of solids increases closer to the center of any large cosmic body, there is more metal in the lunar seas than anywhere else on the Moon.
• The main landform of the Moon is craters and other derivatives of impacts and shock waves, which are thorasteroids. Lunar mountains and circuses were built huge and changed the structure of the surface of the moon beyond recognition. Their role was especially strong at the beginning of the history of the Moon, when it was still liquid - the falls raised whole waves of molten stone. This was also the reason for the formation of the lunar seas: the side facing the Earth was more heated due to the concentration of heavy substances in it, which is why asteroids affected it more than the cool reverse side. The reason for this uneven distribution of matter was the attraction of the Earth, especially strong at the beginning of the moon's history, when it was closer.

• In addition to craters, mountains and seas, there are caves and cracks in the moon - surviving witnesses of those times when the bowels of the moon were as hot as they were, and volcanoes acted on it. These caves often contain water ice, as do the craters at the poles, which is why they are often considered as sites for future lunar bases.
• The real color of the Moon's surface is very dark, closer to black. All over the moon, there are a variety of colors - from turquoise blue to almost orange. The light gray hue of the Moon from the Earth and in the pictures is due to the high illumination of the Moon by the Sun. Due to the dark color, the surface of the satellite reflects only 12% of all rays falling from our star. If the moon were brighter - and during full moons it would be as bright as day.

How was the moon formed?

The study of the minerals of the Moon and its history is one of the most difficult disciplines for scientists. The surface of the Moon is open to cosmic rays, and there is nothing to retain heat near the surface - therefore, the satellite heats up to 105 ° C during the day, and cools down to -150 ° C at night. The two-week duration of day and night increases the effect on the surface - and as a result, the minerals of the Moon change beyond recognition with time. However, we managed to find out something.

Today, the Moon is believed to be the product of a collision between a large planetary embryo, Theia, and the Earth, which occurred billions of years ago when our planet was completely molten. Part of the planet that collided with us (and it was the size of ) was absorbed - but its core, along with part of the surface matter of the Earth, was thrown into orbit by inertia, where it remained in the form of the Moon.

This proves the deficiency of iron and other metals on the Moon already mentioned above - by the time Theia tore out a piece of terrestrial matter, most of the heavy elements of our planet were attracted by gravity inward, to the core. This collision affected the further development of the Earth - it began to rotate faster, and its axis of rotation tilted, which made possible the change of seasons.

Further, the Moon developed as an ordinary planet - it formed an iron core, mantle, crust, lithospheric plates and even its own atmosphere. However, the small mass and composition poor in heavy elements led to the fact that the bowels of our satellite quickly cooled down, and the atmosphere evaporated from the high temperature and the absence of a magnetic field. However, some processes are still taking place inside - due to movements in the lithosphere of the Moon, moonquakes sometimes occur. They represent one of the main dangers for future colonizers of the Moon: their scope reaches 5 and a half points on the Richter scale, and they last much longer than the earth's - there is no ocean capable of absorbing the impulse of the movement of the earth's interior.

The main chemical elements on the Moon are silicon, aluminium, calcium and magnesium. The minerals that form these elements are similar to those of the earth and are even found on our planet. However, the main difference between the minerals of the Moon is the absence of exposure to water and oxygen produced by living beings, a high proportion of meteorite impurities and traces of cosmic radiation. The ozone layer of the Earth was formed quite a long time ago, and the atmosphere burns most of the mass of falling meteorites, allowing water and gases to slowly but surely change the face of our planet.

The future of the moon

The Moon is the first cosmic body after Mars, which claims to be the first human colonization. In a sense, the Moon has already been mastered - the USSR and the USA left state regalia on the satellite, and orbital radio telescopes hide behind the far side of the Moon from the Earth, the generator of many interferences on the air. However, what awaits our satellite in the future?

The main process, which has already been mentioned more than once in the article, is the distance of the Moon due to tidal acceleration. It happens quite slowly - the satellite flies away by no more than 0.5 centimeters per year. However, something completely different is important here. Distancing itself from the Earth, the Moon slows down its rotation. Sooner or later, a moment may come when a day on Earth will last as long as a lunar month - 29-30 days.

However, the removal of the moon will have its limit. After reaching it, the Moon will begin to approach the Earth in turns - and much faster than it moved away. However, it will not succeed in completely crashing into it. For 12-20 thousand kilometers from the Earth, its Roche cavity begins - the gravitational limit at which a satellite of a planet can maintain a solid shape. Therefore, the Moon on approach will be torn into millions of small fragments. Some of them will fall to Earth, setting up a bombardment thousands of times more powerful than nuclear, and the rest will form a ring around the planet like . However, it will not be so bright - the rings of gas giants are made of ice, which is many times brighter than the dark rocks of the Moon - they will not always be visible in the sky. The Ring of the Earth will create a problem for the astronomers of the future - if, of course, by then there is someone left on the planet.

Moon colonization

However, all this will happen in billions of years. Until then, mankind considers the Moon as the first potential object for space colonization. But what exactly is meant by "exploring the moon"? Now we will look at the nearest prospects together.

Many imagine space colonization to be similar to the New Age colonization of Earth - finding valuable resources, extracting them, and then bringing them back home. However, this does not apply to space - in the next couple of hundred years, the delivery of a kilogram of gold, even from the nearest asteroid, will be more expensive than its extraction from the most difficult and dangerous mines. Also, the Moon is unlikely to act as a "dacha sector of the Earth" in the near future - although there are large deposits of valuable resources, it will be difficult to grow food there.

But our satellite may well become a base for further space exploration in promising directions - for example, the same Mars. The main problem of astronautics today is the restrictions on the weight of spacecraft. To launch, you have to build monstrous structures that need tons of fuel - after all, you need to overcome not only the gravity of the Earth, but also the atmosphere! And if this is an interplanetary ship, then you also need to refuel it. This seriously constrains designers, forcing them to prefer parsimony over functionality.

The moon is much better suited for the launch pad of spacecraft. The absence of an atmosphere and the low speed to overcome the Moon's gravity - 2.38 km/s versus 11.2 km/s of the Earth - make launches much easier. And the satellite's mineral deposits make it possible to save on the weight of fuel - a stone around the neck of astronautics, which occupies a significant proportion of the mass of any apparatus. If you expand the production of rocket fuel on the Moon, it will be possible to launch large and complex spacecraft assembled from parts brought from Earth. And assembly on the Moon will be much easier than in Earth orbit - and much more reliable.

The technologies that exist today make it possible, if not completely, then partially, to implement this project. However, any steps in this direction require risk. The huge investment will require research for the right minerals, as well as the development, delivery and testing of modules for future lunar bases. And one estimated cost of launching even the initial elements is capable of ruining an entire superpower!

Therefore, the colonization of the Moon is not so much the work of scientists and engineers as the work of people around the world to achieve such a valuable unity. For in the unity of mankind lies the true strength of the Earth.

In astronomy, a satellite is a body that revolves around a larger body and is held by its force of attraction. The Moon is the Earth's satellite. Earth is a satellite of the Sun. All planets in the solar system, with the exception of Mercury and Venus, have satellites.

Artificial satellites are man-made spacecraft that orbit the Earth or another planet. They are launched for various purposes: for scientific research, for studying the weather, for communication.

The Earth-Moon system is unique in the solar system, since no planet has such a large satellite. The moon is the only satellite of the Earth, but it is so big and close!

It is better visible to the naked eye than any planet through a telescope. Telescopic observations and close-up photographs show that its beautiful surface is uneven and extremely complex. Active study of the natural satellite of the Earth began in 1959, when space probes, automatic interplanetary stations that delivered samples of lunar rocks were launched in our country and in the USA towards the Moon for its comprehensive study. And up to the present time, spacecraft bring a lot of information for the work of selenologists (scientists who study the moon). Our satellite is fraught with many mysteries. For a long time, people did not see its reverse side until 1959, when the Luna-3 automatic station photographed the invisible side of the lunar surface. Later, on the basis of images obtained with the help of the domestic station Zond-3 and the American spacecraft Lunar Orbiter, maps of the surface of the Moon were compiled. Flights of automatic lunar stations and landings of lunar expeditions helped to answer a number of unclear questions that worried astronomers. But, in turn, they set new challenges for astronomers.

The air is as clear during the day as it is at night, but the stars are not visible. The thing is that in the daytime the atmosphere scatters sunlight. Try looking out into the street from a well-lit room in the evening. Through the window glass, bright lights located outside are visible quite well, and dimly lit objects are almost impossible to see. But all you have to do is turn off the light...

The river flows quietly and smoothly across the plain, and accelerates its movement on steep cliffs. The stream cuts deep into the soil and forms narrow gorges with steep and high walls. Especially quickly the water erodes the coast, consisting of loose rocks. If the river is blocked by mountains, it either goes around them or breaks through, creating deep gorges and canyons. Sometimes…

The cleanest and deepest lake is Baikal. Its length is 620 kilometers with a width of 32 to 74 kilometers. The depth of the lake in the deepest place - the Olkhon crack - is 1940 meters. The volume of fresh water in the lake is 2300 cubic kilometers. Geographers call Lake Tanganyika the African sister of Baikal. It originated in East Africa many millions ...

Folk Russian wisdom says: "Put a house where the sheep lay down." And in China, there is a custom not to start building a house until you are sure that the building site is free from “deep demons”. That is why most of the ancient cities and villages, both in Russia and in many other countries, are located very well. Although there is, of course,…

The need to measure time arose among people already in ancient times. The first calendars appeared many thousands of years ago at the dawn of human civilization. People have learned to measure periods of time, to compare them with phenomena that recur periodically (change of day and night, change of phases of the moon, change of seasons). Without the use of time units, people could not live, communicate with each other, ...

In this constellation, two bright stars are very close to each other. They got their name in honor of the Argonauts of the Dioscuri - Castor and Pollux - twins, sons of 3eus, the most powerful of the Olympic gods, and Leda, a frivolous earthly beauty, the brothers of Helen the beautiful - the culprit of the Trojan War. Castor was famous as a skilled charioteer, and Pollux as an unsurpassed fist ...

The great Italian Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who did a lot for the development of mathematics, mechanics, physics, achieved amazing success in the study of celestial bodies. He became famous not only for a number of astronomical discoveries, but also for the great courage with which he stood up for the teachings of Copernicus, which was forbidden by the all-powerful church. In 1609, Galileo learned that a far-seeing device had appeared in Holland (as it is translated from Greek ...

We often have to watch how on a clear sunny day the shadow of a cloud driven by the wind runs across the Earth and reaches the place where we are. The cloud hides the sun. During a solar eclipse, the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun and hides it from us. Our planet Earth rotates during the day around its axis, simultaneously moving around ...

Our Sun is an ordinary star, and all stars are born, live and die. Every star goes out sooner or later. Unfortunately, our Sun will not shine forever. At one time, scientists believed that the Sun was slowly cooling down or “burning out”. However, now we know that if this happened in reality, then his energy would be enough for ...

For a long time, almost until the end of the 18th century, Saturn was considered the last planet in the solar system. Saturn differs from other planets in its bright ring, discovered in 1655 by the Dutch physicist H. Huygens. A small telescope shows two rings separated by a dark slit. There are actually seven rings. They all revolve around the planet. Scientists have proved by calculations that the rings are not solid, but ...

Lesson summary using information technology (ICT)

Thing: the world.

UMC: N.Ya. Dmitrieva, A.N. Kazakov, developing training "System Zankov L.V."

Class: 2

Lesson type: introduction to new material.

Lesson topic: The Moon is the Earth's satellite.

Duration: 40 min.

Annotation: II quarter, the studied module "Space", 5th lesson.

Methods, techniques, forms:

- verbal (conversation), game;
– visual (multimedia presentation;);
– practical;
– method of self-control;
- problematic, organization of search and research work;

Combination of frontal, individual, group and pair forms of work;

The lesson of the surrounding world was developed in accordance with the requirements of the FGOS IEO.

Target: expand students' knowledge of the moon.

Tasks:

Educational tasks:

introduce the Earth's satellite - the Moon, with its movement around the Earth, size and distance from the Earth;

explain why the apparent shape of the moon changes throughout the month.

Development tasks:

develop spatial imagination, cognitive interest, outlook, creative abilities;

develop the ability to work with a globe, educational text;

develop skills of self-control and control, skills of practical work in groups;

to develop the cognitive activity of children, the ability to observe, compare, generalize and draw conclusions.

Educational tasks:

contribute to the formation of the student's personality, support the needs and motives to learn "new";

to instill respect for each other;

to form an emotionally positive attitude towards the subject, showing the connection of the studied subjects with life.

Value orientations: inquisitive, active and interested in knowing the world.

Planned results:

Personal UUD:

formation of a holistic, socially oriented view of the world in its limited unity;

to form motivation for learning and purposeful cognitive activity;

perceive classmates as members of their team (group);

contribute to the work to achieve common results;

be tolerant of other people's and their own mistakes, other opinions and be willing to discuss them.

Metasubject UUD.

Regulatory UUD:

together with the teacher to discover and formulate a learning problem;

after a preliminary discussion, independently formulate the topic of the lesson and the purpose of the lesson;

predict future work: determining the purpose of educational activities, choosing a topic, drawing up a plan;

evaluate learning activities in accordance with the task;

compare their actions with the goal, learn to evaluate the results of educational activities;

perform self-testing against the standard and adjust their activities.

Cognitive UUD:

navigate your knowledge system;

extract and process information to discover new knowledge;

extract information presented in different forms (test, text, illustration);

process the information received: draw conclusions as a result of the joint work of the whole class, group, couple.

Communicative UUD:

to convey one's position to others: to express one's point of view and try to substantiate it by giving arguments;

formulate your thoughts in speech form and convey your position to others;

listen to others, try to take a different point of view, be ready to change your point of view;

jointly agree on the rules of communication and behavior in the group and follow them;

consciously choose the criterion for the qualitative assessment of the work of the group.

Subject UUD:

be able to explain the meaning of "The moon is a satellite of the Earth";

work with ready-made models (globe);

expand knowledge of the moon.

Teaching technologies: technology of developing education, technology of activity approach, technology of problem-based learning, health-saving, technology of evaluation of educational achievements.

Equipment: computer, multimedia presentation of the lesson, handout for group work: evaluation signal cards, masks for the scene (phases of the moon), the dictionary word "crater".

During the classes

I .Motivation for learning activities(children in chorus) (slide 1)

The bell rang

The lesson starts.

To become a friend of nature

Know all her secrets

Unravel all mysteries

We learn to observe.

Together we will develop mindfulness,

And our curiosity will help to find out everything.

Hello guys, look at each other, smile and sit down. Now we have a lesson in the world around us.

I I . Knowledge update

Before proceeding to the study of a new topic, we will complete a test, thereby checking how well you have learned the topic of the last lesson.(slide 2 - 7)

Test (Knowledge quality control and monitoring system) PROClass

The planets of the solar system are studying...

A) geographers;

B) chemists;

B) astronomers

D) physics.

The planets revolve around the sun. Them...

A) 7;

B) 9;

AT 11.

Pluto is...

a) the largest planet in the solar system

B) the smallest planet in the solar system;

C) the closest planet to the sun in the solar system.

The planets are located relative to the Sun:

A) Venus, Earth, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Pluto, Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter;

B) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Neptune, Pluto, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus;

C) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto.

What is Earth?

A) a star

B) a planet

C) a flaming ball.

III . Formulation of the topic of the lesson, goal setting

I have prepared a small crossword puzzle for you. Let's guess it and see what keyword we get. (slide 8)

The star around which the earth revolves?

The planet farthest from the Sun?

Celestial body revolving around the sun?

A celestial body that itself glows?

So what's the keyword? (Moon)

So what are we going to talk about today? (about the moon)

Have you seen the moon?

What do you know about her?

Do you know everything about her?

Do you want to know more? (Yes)

What do you think the topic of our lesson is? ("The Moon is the Earth's satellite") (slide 9)

Let's see what we have to learn about her during this lesson? (slide 10)

1. The moon is a satellite of the Earth.

The surface of the moon.

Moon phases.

Human exploration of the moon.

To find out all this, we will go on an extraordinary journey to the moon. You will be real explorers, astronomers. You will draw conclusions based on scientific facts.

So, are you ready to embark on an extraordinary journey?

Fasten seat belts! Attention! Takeoff!

I V. Discovery of new knowledge.

Here we are, right there with you. Let's start looking for answers to our questions?

1. The moon is a satellite of the Earth. (slide 11)

Guys, in front of you is our planet Earth and the Moon. What can you say about them?

What is the size of the moon compared to the size of the earth?

The moon, it turns out, is 4 times smaller than the Earth.

What is the distance from Earth to the Moon?

The distance to the moon is about 400 thousand km. This is the closest cosmic body to the Earth.

It turns out that the Earth and the Moon, they are like 2 brothers, always inseparable. The Moon moves around the Earth, and together with the Earth around the Sun. Therefore, the Moon is called the satellite of the Earth.

Let's, in order to better imagine all this, we ourselves will briefly turn into the Sun, the planet Earth and the Moon. We will try to show the movement of the Earth around the Sun, and the Moon around the Earth. (Children demonstrate how the Sun, Earth and Moon move. Student - the Sun revolves around itself. Student - Earth - around itself and very slowly around the Sun. Student - the Moon revolves around itself and around the Earth.)

Here we have seen clearly the movement of the satellite of the Earth Moon.

Well done, sit down.

Now open the textbooks p.65 and read the first paragraph. Let's find out what the authors of the textbook offer us? (slide 12)

So why is the moon called the satellite of the earth? (children's answers)

2. The surface of the moon.(slide 13)

What do you see in the image?

Look at the surface of the moon and tell me what it is?

Look at the photo of the moon and listen to a poem by Gianni Rodari that your classmate will tell us... (one student says). Think what they called lunar seas. (Most likely, these are mountains and depressions on the surface of the moon.)

By the moonlit sea

Special secret -

It doesn't look like the sea.

There is not a drop of water in this sea,

And there are no fish either.

Into his waves

Can't dive

You can't splash in it.

You can't drown.

Swim in that sea

Convenient only for those

Who swim

Still can't do it at all!

What is said about the surface of the moon? (The surface of the Moon is rocky and very uneven. Mountains alternate with plains covered with dust. There are many depressions on the Moon that were formed from meteorite impacts on its surface).

Guys, these depressions are called craters, or in another way they are called "lunar seas."

Let's repeat this word in chorus - a crater (in chorus).

People even gave names to these seas: the Sea of ​​Tranquility, the Sea of ​​Rains, the Ocean of Storms.

So what are "moon seas"? (craters formed as a result of the fall of meteorites - stones that fell from space).

Fizminutka

Do not yawn on the sides, There will be a turn to the right.

You are an astronaut today! One - clap, two - clap,

Let's start training, Turn around again!

To become strong and dexterous. One two three four,

We put our hands to the sides, shoulders higher, arms wider.

We get the right left, we lower our hands down

And then vice versa - And sit down at the desk again!

3. Moon phases

- And now, guys, look at the fairy tale that your classmates and I have prepared for you. It's called "Why doesn't the month have a dress?" And why is it called that? (acting a fairy tale by two students)Appendix 1

What mystery does this story reveal? (slide 14)

Why doesn't the moon have a dress? (The moon is different)

Do you know what determines the different types of the moon?

Working in pairs (document camera application)

- Let's remember the rules of working in pairs, in groups. Annex 2

- Compare your drawings of the Moon with the drawings in your textbook.

Why do we see the Moon so differently from Earth? (Children's messages)

The different appearance of the Moon depends on how it is illuminated by the Sun invisible to us at night. The appearance of the Moon changes during the month, because it occupies a different position relative to the Sun and the Earth. Even in ancient times, people noticed that the moon changes its shape all the time. Either it looks like a round plate, or it looks like a sickle, which they called the month. There is an explanation for all this. The sun is a flaming ball. It emits light. And the moon does not emit light; it is like a mirror, reflecting the light of the sun. The sun's rays illuminate it from only one side. Only this illuminated side of the Moon is visible from Earth. As the Moon moves around the Earth, the Sun illuminates it in different ways. Depending on which part of the moon is illuminated, we see it in the sky - either as a whole, or as a half, or as a narrow sickle. If you watch the Moon, you will notice that the crescent of the "young", "growing" Moon is different from the "aging" Moon. To do this, you need to connect the ends of the horns with a straight line segment and slightly extend this line down. We will get the letter "P", i.e. the first letter of the word "growing". So we drew the young moon. And the “aging” sickle itself speaks of this, because it looks like the letter “C” - the first letter of the word “aging”.

Human exploration of the moon.(slide 15)

Guys, do you think people dreamed of visiting the moon? (Children's messages)

People have long dreamed of going to the moon. The real assault on the moon begins in 1959. In 1966, the Luna-9 station landed on the moon and transmitted a television image of the lunar landscape. In 1970, the Luna-16 station drilled and delivered lunar soil to Earth. Other countries were also engaged in the study of the moon.

And now you will learn about who managed to visit the moon. (Children's messages)

In 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed on the moon. They even managed to ride a lunar rover. In 1970, the first domestic self-propelled vehicle Lunokhod-1 began its movement on the surface of the Moon. A lot of craters on the Moon are caused by meteorite impacts. The moon has no atmosphere, unlike the earth. Due to the absence of an atmosphere on the surface of the moon, there are sharp temperature fluctuations. On the surface illuminated by the Sun, it rises to +130 degrees, and at night it drops to -160 degrees.

- What were the names of the American astronauts who landed on the moon? ( Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin)

What did scientists - astronomers manage to find out as a result of studying the moon? (Scientists have proven that there is no air, water, and therefore no animals and plants on the Moon.)

Have we received answers to questions previously unknown to us?

Now close your eyes and imagine that you and I are flying back to Earth. Happy landing, guys!

V. Consolidation of the studied material(slide 16)

Here we have learned a lot about the Earth's satellite, the Moon. And now let's check how well you remember everything.

Group work

Lay out statements on the tables using the words given to you. But keep in mind that not all words will be useful to you.

I Group

II Group

(

III Group

Read the statements you received.

One of the groups met the name Gagarin. Who can tell me who it is? (first man to fly into space).

State his full name. (Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin)

Or maybe someone can tell me the year when Yuri Gagarin made the flight? ( April 12, 1961)

Well done boys!

VI. Reflection of learning activities in the classroom.

- The bell will ring soon

Let's quickly summarize.

What new did you learn in the lesson? (about the fact that the Moon is a satellite of the Earth, about the surface of the Moon, about the phases, about the people who conquered the moon)

Self-assessment of work

I suggest that you evaluate your work in the lesson: (each has stars of three colors on the table)

red star- The lesson was easy, interesting.

yellow star- experienced difficulties.

Brown star- the lesson was boring, difficult, I did not understand anything.

Home.zad. Prepare a report on the Moon on behalf of an astronaut or a scientific astronomer.

Bibliography:

Dmitrieva N.Ya., Kazakov A.N. The world around: Textbook for grade 2: At 2 pm - 8th ed. - Samara: Educational Literature Publishing House: Fedorov Publishing House, 2012.

Dmitrieva N.Ya., Kazakov A.N. Workbook on the world around for grade 2 - Samara: Educational Literature Publishing House: Fedorov Publishing House, 2013.

Gulueva T.S. The world around 2nd grade. Methodological recommendations for the textbook Dmitrieva N.Ya., Kazakov A.N. The world around 2nd grade. - Volgograd: Teacher, 2009. - 281s.

Appendix 1

Fairy tale "Why the month has no dress"

The Crescent looked to the Tailor,

Not to the heavenly, but to the earthly.

- Sew me, master, an elegant dress,

I will walk in the sky on a holiday!

Tailor took measurements from the Crescent.

Invites him to try on.

But just for a few days

The Moon became twice as full.

Both in the shoulders and in the chest it is tight

So recovered the Heavenly Moon!

Almost crying with annoyance Tailor:

-What the devil was playing a trick on me!

Your grace is a little plump

Or from washing the matter of the village, -

I honestly don't understand...

Okay! I'll take a new sample.

Here days pass by,

Tailor doesn't waste a minute.

Well, the Moon is a reveler at night

In the meantime, it became the full moon.

He tries on a tight dress

And, sighing, he mutters curses:

- A sinner, a swindler, a villain!

I would be ashamed of good people.

For the last three days and three nights

The dress has become tighter and shorter!

Portnoy didn't answer.

Where can the Tailor argue with the Moon!

He took measurements from the customer again:

The dress will be ready for the holiday.

The tailor ripped the seams of the dress,

Chest expanded, extended the hem.

A little more to be done,

And the Moon is knocking on the window.

Yes, not the Moon, but a thin Sickle

At this time he went to the damage,

Not the Moon, but only half:

Only horns and a round back.

The whole trembled with anger Tailor:

- No, stop joking with me!

I foolishly tried to please you.

Every day, you changed shape.

Then you became round like a pancake.

Then thin, just this arshin.

Sewing a dress for you is an empty occupation,

Stay better without a dress!

Annex 2

Rules for working in pairs

Both should work.

One speaks, the other listens.

If you don't understand, ask again.

Group rules

The group must be responsible.

If you don't understand, ask again.

One speaks, others listen.

Express your disagreement politely.

Everyone should work for a common result.

Appendix 3

Cards with sayings for group work.

I Group

Mars, Sun, Moon, artificial, natural, satellite of the Earth, Pluto.

("The moon is a natural satellite of the Earth")

II Group

The first, people, animals, Armstrong, Gagarin, who conquered, Aldrin, the Moon. ( The first people to conquer the moon - Armstrong and Aldrin")

III Group

Craters formed by, comets, from impacts, hollows, it, meteorites. (Craters are depressions formed from meteorite impacts.)

Appendix 4

Creative report with photographic materials

To the question Why is the Moon a satellite of the Earth, and not an independent planet? given by the author Antimona the best answer is The force of attraction of the Sun to the Moon goes into the fact that the Moon, together with the Earth, revolves around the Sun.
At the moment, she is also tied to the Earth. And how it started .... that's another question.

Answer from 22 answers[guru]

Hey! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: Why is the Moon a satellite of the Earth, and not an independent planet?

Answer from Nik Vas[guru]
Planets revolve around stars and have a dependent trajectory.
The satellites are moving...

Answer from B and x r b[guru]
The postscript is incomprehensible, the question is clear.
The gravity of the Earth is precisely what holds the Moon!
The earth is close, so its gravitation acts stronger!
So for all planets with satellites

Answer from MiF[guru]
you could say the same about people. or any other part of the earth. but we are attracted to the sun much weaker than to the earth. and the sun does not tear the earth apart.
because with respect to the sun, all parts of the earth move approximately the same way. and the sun creates virtually no distortion. for the distances between the parts of the earth are incommensurably small in comparison with the distance to the sun. and the ratio is quadratic.

Answer from [email protected] [guru]
As for the fact that "the Sun attracts the Moon 2 times stronger than the Earth" I do not agree.
Satellites of a planet can only be its satellites within the scope of that planet. The Moon is precisely in the sphere of action of the Earth, which means that at that distance from the Earth, where the Moon is, the Earth's attraction prevails over the attraction of the Sun. Otherwise, the Moon, as a satellite, would be lost.
During the formation of the planets of the solar system from a gas-dust cloud, each planet was formed in its own zone. As a result, all the planets have their stable orbits and cannot change them by themselves. Between neighboring large planets there is no "free space" for a stable orbit of another large planet (the exception is the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter). Therefore, the Moon can only be what it is - a satellite of the Earth.

Answer from IKILL[newbie]
Well, probably because it rotates around a specific axis and this axis is the earth, this determines its specific belonging to the earth, but in 2x, probably, dimensions, as with the rest of the satellites of other planets.

Answer from Valery collective farmer[guru]
in fact, our planet could not acquire such a satellite for any money, in terms of mass ... it could not be a body that came and ruins of space like from an aorta cloud ... the speed of convergence would not be enough for it to hang in this orbit, because we are quite close to the sun, ... under certain conditions, it could be part of the earth, well, like it was torn into unequal parts ... no one knows yet ... if the moon, however, was not formed as a result of a catastrophe or at the time of the birth of the earth, then this is an artificial body ... but no one knows anything against it...