Day 3: The Moon

Full moon 1/8/12

Full moon 1/8/12

The moon put in perspective with nearby stars

          Tonight, there was a beautiful full moon and a cloudless sky. It wasn't very cold outside, and the setting resembled what you would expect out of a spring night. I decided to go outside, sit down in a chair in my backyard, and admire the Moon. More distant in sky, I could observe the many stars and other celestial bodies (a natural object which lies outside of Earth's atmosphere.) When you looked at them collectively, it was a beautiful sight. I felt it to be impossible to refrain from gazing. Also, I could see moonlight illuminating the grass in my backyard. The leaves appeared to glisten. It looked like something out of a movie. To me, it's always been mind-blowing when I put it in perspective how far away these monstrous bodies are. I find it interesting to think, "Wow. The distance of almost entire emptiness between us, and the Moon and stars, is massive." Another thing I find interesting is the fact that there could be other civilizations living on those celestial bodies, hundreds of light years away.
         The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. (A celestial body that orbits a planet or other body.) Relative to the size of the Earth, the Moon is the largest natural satellite of a planet in the solar system, with one fourth of Earth's diameter. Sadly, the Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth, so we will only see one side of it. Actually, the only way we can even see the Moon is due to the Sun. With an Albedo of .136, the Moon doesn't emit any of it's own light, for it has none. Rather, the Sunlight reflects off the Moon and that is why we can see the Moon, and why we see moonlight.