Fred,
Johnny Carson read my note to him to the world on this back in
May of 1981 it replayed on "Best of Carson" a couple of years
later. My phone didn't stop ringing for days after. :-)
Wait-a-minute ? What is the back-story on this one, Fred?
You sent a funny note to Carson about Moon Phases in '81, and he
read it on his show - and mentioned your name?
Fantastic. Great story... & if you want to spice it up
scientificaly for the grandkids....Moon-Trivia from The "Did You
Know Department"
The moon is moving away from earth at a rate of 1.5 inches per
year.
The surface area of the moon is ~10 billion acres.
About 59 percent of the moon's surface is visible from earth. Only
a dozen or so humans have seen it all.
The moon is not round, but distored into an egg-shaped by earth's
gravity, with the fat end pointed towards earth.
The earth rotates about 1000 mph. By comparison, the moon rotates
about 10 mph in sync so only one side is visible.
There is no real "dark side" especially during a "full earth"
The New Moon always rises at sunrise.
The Full Moon always rises at sunset.
Distance From Earth: 225,745 miles
Length of a Day: 27.3 days
Radius: 1,080 miles
Diameter: 2,160 miles
Weight: 81 Quintillion Tons
Surface Temp (Day): 273° F
Surface Temp (Night): - 244° F
Gravity At Surface: 0.1667 g (1/6 Earth's)
Orbital Speed 2,287 mph
Driving time by car (@70 mph): 135 days
Flying time by rocket: 60 to 70 hrs.
No. of Men known to Have Walked on Surface: 12
Rock samples collected & returned by Apollo: 842 pounds
Widest Crater: 140 miles (dia.)
Highest Mountains: 16,000+ (ft.)
