The Surface of the Moon

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

The stars and moon in the sky light up the night.

This lesson focuses on the moon. What do you know about Earth’s moon? What is it made of? Share what you know with your parent or teacher.

The moon is made up of rock. The surface of the moon isn’t like the Earth’s surface, because all of the ground is rocky on the moon. Are you ready to explore the surface of the moon? Great!

You can see the moon at night because it is reflecting the light of the sun. Take a look at the picture of the moon below. What do you notice about the surface of the moon? Tell your parent or teacher.

You can see many different shades of grey on the moon and you can see craters. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to explore the surface of the moon? Read on to learn about what being on the moon is like.

The moon is covered in craters. Craters are like large dents in the ground. Craters are made when asteroids (rocks in space) and comets (ice and rock) hit the moon. Earth has a protective atmosphere that is almost like a protective bubble that surrounds it. This causes asteroids and comets to burn up before hitting Earth's surface. The moon does not have a protective atmosphere to keep it safe from asteroids and comets. Can you see all the craters on the moon in the picture below? Many of these have been created by asteroids and comets.

Craters have also been caused by volcanoes on the moon. Years and years ago, the moon had volcanoes and eruptions. If you look at the moon now, you can see where volcanoes erupted. The light areas on the moon’s surface show where the mountains are. The darker regions show where volcanic eruptions once happened. The dark spots on the moon show where lava flowed and hardened. Can you see the dark and light patches on the moon below?

Now that you've learned about the surface of the moon, in the Got It? section, you will go on a virtual tour of the moon. Before moving on, tell your parent or teacher why certain parts of the moon are a dark grey while other parts are a light grey.