105 Incredible Facts About The Moon [Free Fact Cards]

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and seen the moon lighting up the entire sky? The moon is our very own neighbor in space! It’s been shining down on Earth for billions of years, and people have been making wishes on it, singing songs about it, and wondering about its secrets this whole time! Ready to blast off and discover some incredible facts about the moon? Let’s get started!

Have you ever wondered if the moon is a planet? The moon is actually not a planet. It’s actually called a satellite because it orbits around Earth. It’s like Earth’s little buddy in space, always following along and keeping us company.

Now, here’s something cool: the moon has phases. Sometimes it looks like a full circle, sometimes it’s just a tiny sliver, and other times it might seem like it’s disappeared entirely! These changes happen because of how the sun’s light shines on it. So, every night, it’s like the moon is putting on a different costume for a show!

Have you ever heard people say, “The moon is made of cheese?” While that’s a fun idea, the moon is actually covered in dusty rock and craters, which are like giant bowl-shaped dents. Some of these craters were made by space rocks crashing into the moon a long, long time ago.

Feeling over the moon with curiosity? Perfect! From its glowing phases to its rocky surface, the moon is full of mysteries and wonders. Let’s continue our space journey and uncover more amazing facts about the moon!

Don’t forget to grab your free moon fact cards below! 

Are you collecting all our fact cards? Be sure to grab our Facts About William Shakespeare and our facts about frogs.

The Best Facts about the Moon

1. The Moon began with an explosive collision
2. The Moon is Earth’s only permanent natural satellite
3. The Moon is a dusty ball of rock, measuring 3,476km in diameter – that’s roughly a quarter of the size of Earth.
4. Its surface is home to mountains, huge craters, and flat planes called ‘seas’ made of hardened lava.
5. The Moon formed 4.51 billion years ago, around 50 million years after the birth of the Solar System.

6. Its iron core has an estimated thickness of 480 km.
7. When a full moon is in proximity to the sun, it’s 14% bigger and 30% brighter.
8. Many regard the moon as an oval-shaped planet, but it isn’t. It’s actually oval-shaped, mimicking an egg.
9. An Astronaut’s footprint could stay that way forever on the moon since there is no water or wind on the moon’s surface.
10. The Moon is about 250,000 miles (384,400 kilometers) from Earth.

11. A permanent asymmetric dust cloud surrounds the Moon.
12. There is no breeze or rain on the moon. So, the footprints left by astronauts from Apollo 11 are still on the moon’s surface today!
13. Unlike Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, the moon has no rings.
14. The first Astronaut to play golf on the moon was Alan Shepherd in 1971.
15. The Moon is the second densest satellite

16. The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite – a celestial body that orbits a planet. 
17. The Moon orbits Earth at an average speed of 1.28 light seconds.
18. Smartphones are more powerful than the computers used to land Apollo spacecraft on the surface of the Moon
19. The Moon’s near side has over 300,000 craters with a width greater than 1 km.
20. It would take you 135 days to reach the moon by car, driving at 70 mph.

21. Unlike the fresh air we breathe on our planet, there is not enough oxygen on the moon for humans to live. 
22. The first successful landing of an unmanned spacecraft on the moon’s surface was the Soviet Union’s lunar program in 1966.
23. Moon dust smells like gunpowder
24. The Moon always shows Earth the same face
25. It takes 27.3 days for the Moon to travel all the way around the Earth and complete its orbit.

26. The Moon is one-quarter the diameter of the Earth
27. Lunar rainbows, sometimes known as moonbows, are rainbows resulting from light reflecting off the moon. 
28. One study found that people experience remarkable sleep when a new moon manifests, and the worst sleep when a full moon shows.
29. Surface temperatures reach boiling point
30. The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth.

31. The temperature on the Moon varies from super hot to super cold!
32. The Moon orbits the Earth at a speed of 1.02 km/second.
33. They typically appear white, since the light is normally too faint for the naked eye.
34. The Moon’s temperature ranges from -279 °F (-172 °C) at night to 260 °F (126 °C) in the afternoon
35. The Moon is 4.5 billion years old.

36. To the naked eye, the moon appears bright, but it’s actually very dark, with the reflective power of coal. 
37. Those craters can unlock space history
38. The Moon’s surface is actually dark
39. The Moon is a lot smaller than The Sun
40. The Moon’s surface gravity is roughly one-sixth of Earth’s

41. The Moon has a magnetic field.
42. Humans who visited the moon have since left 96 bags of feces, urine, and vomit.
43. Although the moon looks quite close to the Earth, it is actually 239,000 miles away – about 45 times as long as the Great Wall of China!
44. A survey carried out in 2013 revealed that 7% of Americans believed the moon landing was a hoax.
45. The Moon Buggies (lunar roving vehicles), specially designed and manufactured for lunar driving, were used in the Apollo missions 15, 16, and 17. 

46. You always see the same side of the Moon
47. The Sun and the Moon are not the same size
48. The Moon was made when a rock smashed into Earth
49. The Moon gravitates around its own axis
50. Some places on the Moon can get colder than Pluto.

51. Naturally, our days are 12 hours long. Were it not for the moon; our days would be six hours long.
52. A lunar eclipse saved Christopher Columbus
53. The Moon is drifting away from the Earth
54. The Moon controls the tides
55. Humans dreamed of reaching the Moon even in ancient times.

56. The last time human beings stepped on the moon was 1972
57. Only 12 people have ever walked on the Moon
58. During the 1950s, the USA considered detonating a nuclear bomb on the Moon
59. Apollo 8 made the first manned orbit of the Moon in 1968.
60. Lunar bases are on the horizon

61. The Moon makes the Earth move as well as the tides
62. The diameter of the Moon is 2,159.2 miles (3,475 kilometers), i.e., a third the width of Earth
63. Neil Armstrong became the first man on the Moon in 1969.
64. The age of the oldest rock collected on the moon is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old.
65. The Moon’s crust measures 50 km thicker on its far side compared to its near side.

66. The moon’s surface consists of a large number of impact craters from asteroids and comets that have been colliding with the surface for many years. 
67. The USA continued sending astronauts to the Moon until 1972.
68. The tallest mountain on the moon is Mons Huygens. It’s estimated to be 4, 700 meters tall, slightly half the height of Mount Everest, which stands at 8848 meters.
69. The moon is typically extremely hot during the day and cold during the night, with average surface temperatures of 107 degrees Celsius in the day and -153 degrees Celsius during the night.
70.  The moon’s deepest craters are about 4,500 meters.

71. The Moon was made when a rock smashed into Earth
72. The moon has its own time zone
73. Some months show two moons. When this happens, the second moon is called a blue moon.
74. 59 percent of the surface of the Moon is visible from Earth through changes in perspective.
75. NASA plans to build bases on the Moon.

76. The dust particles found on the moon are severely toxic since the particles are significantly small and jagged.
77. When the Earth occurs between the sun and the moon, it’s called a lunar eclipse.
78. The Moon has quakes too
79. The moon encompasses a huge temperature range
80. That small orb of light in the night sky that we know as the moon is around 2,200 miles in diameter. That is roughly a quarter the size of the Earth!

81. apparent size of the Moon is roughly the same as that of the Sun, making it possible to witness a total solar eclipse
82. Plans for Lunar settlements involve both surface and underground construction.
83. The phrase ‘’once in a blue moon” actually means once in 2.5 years.
84. 5 flags were planted during the exploration of the moon. Today, only 5 of them are still standing.
85. Internet speeds on the moon are significantly high (19mbps).

86. There is water on the Moon!
87. Earth’s Moon is the only place beyond Earth where humans have set foot
88. Eclipses are reversed when viewing from the moon
89. The 160 rocks brought from the moon by the Apollo 11 and 17 missions are missing today.
90. It takes light around 1.3 seconds to get to the moon from Earth

91. A human’s weight on the moon is 16.5% of their weight on Earth.
92. You can’t breathe on the Moon
93. A 95-percent illuminated moon appears half as bright as a full moon
94. Although the moon appears to glow brightly, its surface is actually dark. This is because the moon reflects light from the sun, just the way the Earth does.
95. The first human to pee on the moon was Buzz Aldrin.

96. The moon is Earth’s chemical twin — but it’s smaller
97. There are orange rocks on the moon. 
98. The Moon is getting further away
99. The first- or last-quarter moon is not one half as bright as a full moon
100. The moon’s surface is covered in huge craters caused by asteroids and comets crashing into the surface.

101. The moon has the largest crater of all the planets in the solar system.
102. Moon geography: the moon is riddled with large mountains and valleys
103. The Moon started out around ten times closer to the Earth than it is now and it’s still moving further away by 3.78cm a year.
104. It would take hundreds of thousands of moons to equal the brightness of the sun
105. Hardened “lunar lava” plains cover the moon’s surface from volcanic eruptions billions of years ago.

Do you have even more interesting facts about the moon? Share them with us in the comments! Also, don’t forget to grab your free moon fact cards to add to your collection!