Question 2 of 21

How far is the moon from the Earth?

... While the orbit of the moon changes throughout the year, it is typically 222,000 to 253,000 mi. (357,000 to 407,000 km) from Earth.

Question 3 of 21

The sun is to solar as the moon is to ________.

... The word lunar is derived from the Latin word for the moon: luna.

Question 4 of 21

How long does it take a beam of light to travel from Earth to the moon?

... At 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) per second, it takes an average of 1.3 seconds.

Question 5 of 21

What was the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon?

... Luna 9 from the U.S.S.R. landed Feb. 3, 1966 and sent back pictures; the U.S. followed with Surveyor 1 four months later.

Question 6 of 21

What was the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon?

... "The Eagle has landed," said Apollo 11 Mission Commander Neil Armstrong.

Question 7 of 21

Earth's gravity is roughly ________ times stronger than the moon's.

... You're not completely weightless on the moon, but you feel like you weigh 1/6th of what you do on Earth.

Question 8 of 21

What piece of sporting equipment did Apollo 14 astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. use on the moon?

... Shepard, the mission commander, hit a pair of golf balls with a makeshift club; he said that while one landed in a crater nearby, the other traveled "miles and miles and miles."

Question 9 of 21

What is the general temperature range on the lunar surface?

... Since there's no atmosphere to stabilize its temperature, the moon ranges from -250 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit (-157 to 121 degrees Celsius). The coldest temperatures can be found at its poles!

Question 10 of 21

The moon's core is believed to be made of ________.

... NASA researchers believe the moon has a solid, iron-rich core with a diameter of 300 miles (480 kilometers).

Question 11 of 21

The dark patches on the moon are called ________.

... The technical term is maria, the plural of the Latin "mare," or sea. Ancient observers thought the dark patches could have been oceans -- the name persisted after these low-lying areas were discovered to be dry.

Question 12 of 21

The moon is ________ the Earth.

... The circumference of the Earth is approximately 24,900 miles (40,000 kilometers), while the moon's is just 6,800 mi. (11,000 km).

Question 13 of 21

When the moon comes between the Earth and the sun, and the sun seems to disappear, it is called ________.

... In a solar eclipse, the sun seems to disappear because the moon blocks its light.

Question 14 of 21

When the moon goes from crescent to full each month, it is waxing. While it darkens again it is ________.

... When the moon appears to be reducing from full to crescent, it is said to be waning.

Question 15 of 21

When one of the year's four seasons has an extra full moon, it is also called ________.

... Full moons occur about every 29 1/2 days, and most months have 30 or 31 days, so an extra full moon comes along about every 2.7 years. This blue moon is an extra full moon in a three-month season (not in a single month).

Question 16 of 21

What phenomena are directly related to the moon's gravitational pull?

... Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun, as well as the Earth's rotation.

Question 17 of 21

Is the dark side of the moon the same as the far side of the moon?

... The same side of the moon always faces Earth, but all parts of the moon recieve sunlight at some point, just as all parts of the Earth do.

Question 18 of 21

What have unmanned spacecraft found at the lunar poles?

... NASA announced discovery of water molecules at the lunar poles in 2009, after analyzing data from an instrument it placed aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.

Question 19 of 21

What document states that the moon belongs to no one country?

... The Outer Space Treaty -- officially named The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies -- holds that space "shall be the province of all mankind."

Question 20 of 21

For centuries, western cultures have seen the Man in the Moon among the moon's markings. What have some Asian cultures seen?

... The moon rabbit is also known as the jade rabbit.

Question 21 of 21

What song did Tony Bennett sing on 'Sesame Street' to celebrate space exploration?

... "Slimey to the Moon" -- a take on "Fly Me to the Moon" -- accompanied scenes of Slimey the Worm's lunar mission.

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