The Moon is a weird neighbor. It’s been hanging out around Earth for about 4.5 billion years, yet we’ve only actually stepped foot on it during a tiny six-year window in the 20th century. Most people look up and see a glowing white circle, but if you actually stood on the lunar surface, you’d realize it’s basically the color of a worn-out asphalt driveway. It’s dark. It’s dusty. And it smells like spent gunpowder.
That gunpowder smell is one of those things Apollo astronauts like Gene Cernan and Harrison "Jack" Schmitt noted after their moonwalks. Once they repressed the cabin and took off their helmets, the lunar regolith—that fine, abrasive dust—clung to their suits and filled the Lunar Module with a distinct, metallic scent. It’s these kinds of details that get lost in the dry textbooks. When we talk about 100 facts about the moon, we aren't just talking about orbital mechanics. We’re talking about a world that is fundamentally hostile, strangely beautiful, and slowly drifting away from us at about 3.8 centimeters per year. That’s roughly the speed your fingernails grow.
The Violent Birth and Strange Physics
The prevailing theory among planetary scientists, known as the Giant Impact Hypothesis, suggests the Moon didn’t just "form" alongside Earth. Instead, a Mars-sized object named Theia slammed into the proto-Earth. The resulting debris disk eventually coalesced into the Moon. This explains why the Moon has such a tiny iron core compared to Earth; it’s mostly made of the lighter crustal material from both colliding bodies.
You've probably heard the Moon has no atmosphere. That’s a bit of a lie. It actually has an "exosphere," a very thin layer of gases including helium, neon, and hydrogen. It’s so thin that the atoms rarely even collide with each other. Because there’s no real atmosphere to trap heat, temperatures are bipolar. You’re looking at a scorching 127°C (260°F) in the sun and a bone-chilling -173°C (-280°F) in the shade.
Gravity and the Weight Loss Program
If you’re looking to lose weight instantly, the Moon is your best bet. Gravity there is only about one-sixth as strong as Earth’s. A 200-pound person would weigh about 33 pounds. But don't get cocky. Your mass remains the same, meaning your inertia is still there. If you’re running at full speed and try to stop, your "heavy" body still wants to keep going, even if you feel light as a feather.
The Moon isn't a perfect sphere, either. It’s actually egg-shaped. The "large end" of the egg points directly toward Earth due to gravitational tugging over billions of years. This leads to "tidal locking," the reason we only ever see one side of the Moon. The "Dark Side" isn't actually dark; it gets just as much sunlight as the side we see. We just call it the Far Side because it’s hidden from our perspective.
✨ Don't miss: Boynton Beach Boat Parade: What You Actually Need to Know Before You Go
Mapping the Lunar Landscape
When you look at the Moon, you see dark patches. Early astronomers thought these were oceans and called them "maria" (Latin for seas). We now know they are ancient basaltic plains formed by volcanic eruptions.
- Sea of Tranquility: Where Apollo 11 landed.
- Oceanus Procellarum: The largest of the maria, stretching over 2,500 kilometers.
- South Pole-Aitken Basin: One of the largest, deepest, and oldest known impact craters in the solar system.
The Moon is covered in regolith. This isn't soft sand. It’s more like shattered glass. Because there’s no wind or water to erode the edges, every tiny grain of moon dust is sharp and jagged. It destroyed the seals on the Apollo space suits and caused "lunar hay fever" in the astronauts who inhaled it.
The Human Footprint and Legal Limbo
Humans have left a lot of junk up there. Aside from the six American flags (most of which have probably been bleached white by UV radiation by now), there are about 96 bags of human waste. We left lunar rovers, camera equipment, and even a gold olive branch.
- Alan Shepard hit two golf balls on the Moon during Apollo 14. He claimed they went "miles and miles," though later analysis suggests the first one went about 24 yards and the second about 40 yards.
- The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has taken photos of the landing sites, showing the tracks left by the astronauts are still there. Without wind, they could stay for millions of years.
- The Moon has no "owner." The 1967 Outer Space Treaty states that no nation can claim sovereignty over the Moon. It belongs to everyone... and no one.
Moonquakes and Water Ice
You might think the Moon is geologically dead. It's not. It has moonquakes. Some are caused by tidal stresses from Earth’s gravity, others by the Moon shrinking as its interior cools (it has shriveled about 150 feet in circumference over the last few hundred million years). These quakes can last for up to 30 minutes, whereas Earth quakes usually finish in seconds.
One of the most significant discoveries in recent decades is the presence of water ice. It’s tucked away in "permanently shadowed regions" (PSRs) at the poles, where the sun never shines. This ice is the "gold" of the space age. If we can mine it, we can turn it into oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for rocket fuel. This is why everyone—NASA, China, private companies—is currently racing to the lunar South Pole.
🔗 Read more: Bootcut Pants for Men: Why the 70s Silhouette is Making a Massive Comeback
Time and Light
The Moon's "day" is about 29.5 Earth days long. That means you get roughly two weeks of continuous daylight followed by two weeks of night. Because there’s no atmosphere to scatter light, the sky is always pitch black, even when the sun is blazing.
- The Moon is roughly 1/4 the diameter of Earth.
- It takes light about 1.3 seconds to travel from the Moon to Earth.
- The Moon is moving away from us at 3.8 cm per year.
- There are high mountains on the Moon; Mons Huygens is about 15,000 feet tall.
Misconceptions and Lunar Myths
The "Supermoon" isn't actually that super. It happens when the Moon is at "perigee" (its closest point to Earth). While it looks about 14% larger and 30% brighter than a "Micromoon" (at apogee), most casual observers wouldn't notice the difference unless they saw them side-by-side.
And no, the Moon doesn't make people "crazy." The term "lunacy" comes from the Latin luna, based on the old belief that the full moon triggered weird behavior. Hospital and police records consistently show no statistical spike in incidents during a full moon. It’s a classic case of confirmation bias—people notice the one time something crazy happens during a full moon and ignore the thousands of times it doesn't.
[Image showing the phases of the moon from New Moon to Full Moon]
Scientific Oddities You Should Know
The Moon’s magnetic field is almost non-existent today, but it used to be quite strong. Rocks brought back by Apollo missions show signatures of a magnetic field that might have been even stronger than Earth's is now. Why it died out is still a bit of a mystery.
💡 You might also like: Bondage and Being Tied Up: A Realistic Look at Safety, Psychology, and Why People Do It
Also, consider the Bayley’s Beads effect. During a solar eclipse, the Moon's rugged topography allows "beads" of sunlight to shine through in some places while being blocked in others. It looks like a string of glowing pearls.
The Moon also affects our biology more than we realize. Beyond the obvious tides, many marine species synchronize their spawning with lunar cycles. The Great Barrier Reef’s mass coral spawning is a famous example, triggered by the rising sea temperatures and the moon's phase.
A Quick Glance at Lunar Statistics
- Distance from Earth: Average of 384,400 km.
- Surface Area: 37.9 million square kilometers (roughly the size of Africa and Australia combined).
- Orbit Speed: 3,683 km/h.
- Number of people who have walked on it: 12.
- Last person to leave: Gene Cernan, 1972.
What’s Next for Our Satellite?
We are currently in the "Artemis Era." NASA's Artemis program aims to put the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon. But this time, the goal isn't just to leave footprints. The plan is to build a "Gateway" station in lunar orbit and eventually a "Base Camp" on the surface.
We’re also seeing a shift toward private industry. Companies like Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic are attempting to land robotic scouts. The Moon is becoming a commercial frontier.
Actionable Next Steps for Moon Lovers
If you're fascinated by these 100 facts about the moon, don't just read about them. Get involved.
- Download a Moon Phase App: Apps like "My Moon Phase" or "Lumos" help you track when the best viewing times are.
- Invest in 10x50 Binoculars: You don't need a $2,000 telescope to see the Moon. A decent pair of binoculars will reveal craters, mountains, and the "seas" in startling detail.
- Watch the Terminator: No, not the movie. The "terminator line" is the boundary between light and dark on the Moon. This is where the shadows are longest and the craters look most dramatic.
- Visit a Planetarium: Most major cities have them, and they offer "Moon nights" where you can use professional-grade equipment.
- Follow the Artemis Mission: Keep an eye on NASA's official Artemis blog for real-time updates on our return to the lunar surface.
The Moon is more than just a nightlight. It’s a time capsule of the early solar system, a potential refueling station for Mars, and a constant reminder of our place in the cosmos. Next time you see it hanging low on the horizon, remember: you’re looking at a world that is shrinking, shaking, and slowly escaping our grasp.