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The Moon has always been a source of mystery.
In ancient times, people thought it had the powers of a god. Astronomers eventually showed that the brightest object in our nighttime sky was really just a rock satellite. But even then, scientists were not sure what they’d find there. Many imagined that some new form of life would be discovered. In the twentieth century, exploration of the Moon helped replace myth and fantasy with hard facts.
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On July 20, 1969, U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong fulfilled an age-old dream. He became the first man to walk on the Moon.
▲ It’s been said that a full Moon causes chaos and madness. Crime is supposed to rise, dogs are supposed to bite more, and people are believed to act a little crazy. The word lunatic literally means “moonstruck.” It comes from luna, the Latin word for “moon.” However, scientists have no evidence that the Moon influences people’s behavior.
◀ Many ancient peoples believed that the Moon was literally divine. The early Egyptians worshiped the Moon god Khonsu. Aztecs made sacrifices to Metztli, also called the Lady of the Night. Greeks thought the Moon was the goddess Selene, or Artemis, riding her silver chariot across the sky. That’s why the branch of astronomy that studies the Moon is called selenology.
▲ If you spend time at the ocean, you will see that the water level rises and falls about every 12 hours. This is known as the tides. Tides happen mainly because of the gravitational pull between Earth and the Moon. A high tide occurs on the side of Earth facing the Moon. When that part of Earth turns away from the Moon, we have low tide.
