Earth's Moon

Our Moon makes Earth a more livable planet by moderating our home planet's wobble on its axis, leading to a relatively stable climate, and creating a rhythm that has guided humans for thousands of years. The Moon was likely formed after a Mars-sized body collided with Earth and the debris formed into the most prominent feature in our night sky.

The Galileo spacecraft sent back this image of the Moon as it headed into the outer solar system. The distinct bright ray crater at the bottom of the image is the Tycho impact basin.

It may look like a shinning disk in the night sky, but up close, it looks very different. It has rocky, dust sruface.

There is no liquid water and very little ice. There are mountains, valleys, flat areas, and areas that are full of hills.

Tha moon has almost no atmosphere. The moon doesn't have the protection from the rocks. Its surface is covered with craters. Craters are low areas with high rims that form when rocks and other objects crash into the moon.