It’s finally 2018, and at the start of the new year, there was a Supermoon. A Supermoon is when the moon is full, and it being the closest approach to the Earth in its orbit. The moon is not only beautiful, but also has interesting facts about it. Here are eighteen facts about the moon.

1.On average, the moon is 238,855 miles or 384,400 km away from the Earth.

That is about thirty earths. The farthest distance between the Earth and Moon is 252,088 miles which is almost 32 Earths, and the closest distance is 225,623 miles which is between 28 and 29 Earths.

2.There are eight phases during the lunar cycle.

New Moon Cycle

This is the beginning of the Moon phases. This is the dark side of the moon.

Waxing Crescent Moon Cycle

A crescent shape of the Moon.

First Quarter Moon Cycle

The moon when it’s exactly half-lit. By this point, the moon is now one fourth through the cycle.

Waxing Gibbous Moon Cycle.

Most of the moon is visible.

Full Moon Cycle.

The moon is completely full.

Waning Gibbous Moon Cycle

Waxing means that the moon becomes fuller while waning means that the moon becomes thinner. During this cycle, the moon looks the same as the Waxing Gibbous Moon Cycle.

Third Quarter Moon Cycle

During this cycle, the moon is half-lit. Unlike the First Quarter Moon Cycle when

the moon is on the right side, during this cycle, the half is on the left side.

Waning Crescent

The last phase of the lunar cycle. Unlike the Waxing Crescent where the moon is

on the right side, in this phase, the moon is on the left side.

3. The orbital period around the Earth is 27.3 days.

4. The moon cause the rise and fall of the tides.

5. A person on the moon would weigh less than they would on the Earth.

The moon has a weaker gravity than Earth.

6. The moon has an atmosphere.

Some of the atmosphere is made up of gases that aren’t found in Earth’s atmosphere. For example, sodium and potassium.

7. In 1959, Luna 1 became the first spacecraft to get to the moon.

Luna 1 belongs to the USSR.

8. Neil Armstrong was the first person to step on the moon in 1969.

Neil Armstrong was an American astronaut and engineer.

9. In Greek Mythology, Selene and Artemis are two goddess that are associated with the moon.

Selene was the daughter of Hyperion and Theia. Helios and Eos are her siblings. Selena is the goddess of the moon. She drives the moon across the sky every night.

Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and Apollo is her twin brother. Artemis was the goddess of chastity, virginity, the hunt, the moon, and natural environment.

10. Luna and Diana, are the two goddess in Roman Mythology that are associated with the moon.

Luna is the Roman counterpart of Selene while Diana is the Roman counterpart of Artemis.

11. In Mayan Mythology, Ixchel or Ix Chel was the earth and moon goddess.

Ix means goddess of feminine while Chel meas either rainbow or light.

12. In Aztec Mythology, Coyolxauhqui was the moon goddess.

Her name means “Golden Bells.”

13. A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth is directly or almost directly between the sun and the moon.

This can only happen when the moon is full.

14. A solar eclipse happens when the moon is directly or nearly directly between the sun and the Earth.

This can only happen when there is a new moon.

15. Galileo Galilei, an astronomer, was the first person to make scientific observations of the moon with a telescope.

Sources: Greek Mythology, Windows to the Universe (Coyolxauhqui), Space Facts (Moon facts), NASA Space Place (Earth and Moon distance), Sciencing (Lunar Phases), and Ix Chel Center.