Portal:Moon

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FullMoon2010.jpg

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. It is the largest natural satellite in the Solar System relative to the size of its planet, a quarter the diameter of Earth and 1/81 its mass, and is the second densest satellite after Io. It is in synchronous rotation with Earth, always showing the same face; the near side is marked with dark volcanic maria among the bright ancient crustal highlands and prominent impact craters. It is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun, although its surface is actually very dark, with a similar reflectance to coal. Its prominence in the sky and its regular cycle of phases have since ancient times made the Moon an important cultural influence on language, the calendar, art and mythology. The Moon's gravitational influence produces the ocean tides and the minute lengthening of the day. The Moon's current orbital distance, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth, causes it to be the same size in the sky as the Sun—allowing the Moon to cover the Sun precisely in total solar eclipses. Template:/box-footer

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Fra Mauro formation.jpg

The Fra Mauro formation (or Fra Mauro Highlands) is a lunar geological formation on the near side of the Moon that served as the landing site for the American Apollo 14 mission in 1971. It is named after the 80-kilometer-diameter crater Fra Mauro, located within it. The formation, as well as Fra Mauro crater, take their names from a 15th century Italian monk and mapmaker of the same name. Apollo 13 was originally scheduled to land in the Fra Mauro highlands, but was unable to due to an in-flight technical failure. Fra Mauro is thought to have been formed from ejecta, or debris, from the impact which formed Mare Imbrium. During Apollo 14, the crew members sampled ejecta from Cone crater, a crater in close proximity to the immediate landing site of that mission, which provided insight into the composition of material deep inside the formation. Data from the mission has helped to determine the approximate age of Mare Imbrium, suggesting that it is no more than about 4.25 billion years old.

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Apollo 11 bootprint.jpg
Credit: NASA

Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin took this photo of his own bootprint about an hour into the Extra-vehicular activity on July 20, 1969.

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Labeled aerial photo of the Taurus-Littrow valley

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