how is the moon different from the earth?

Answer 1

The first section is on the Moon and a web site with the Earth's characteristics isincluded, to much for listing here

Physical Characteristics of the Moon
The study of the moon's surface increased with the invention of the telescope by Galileo in 1610 and culminated in 1969 when the first human actually set foot on the moon's surface. The physical characteristics and surface of the moon thus have been studied telescopically, photographically, and more recently by instruments carried by manned and unmanned spacecraft (see space exploration). The moon's diameter is about 2,160 mi (3,476 km) at the moon's equator, somewhat more than 1/4 the earth's diameter. The moon has about 1/81 the mass of the earth and is 3/5 as dense. On the moon's surface the force of gravitation is about 1/6 that on earth. It has been established that the moon completely lacks an atmosphere and, despite some tantalizing hints that there might be ice under the surface dust in shaded portions of Shackleton Crater (near the moon's south pole), there is no definite evidence of water. The surface temperature rises above 100°C (212°F) at lunar noon and sinks below -155°C (-247°F) at night. The gross surface features of the moon are visible to the unaided eye and were first studied telescopically in 1610 by Galileo.

Surface Features
The lunar surface is divided into the mountainous highlands and the large, roughly circular plains called maria (sing. mare; from Lat.,=sea) by early astronomers, who erroneously believed them to be bodies of water. The smooth floors of the maria, varying from flat to gently undulating, are covered by a thin layer of powdered rock that darkens them and accounts for the moon's low albedo (only 7% of the incident sunlight is reflected back, the rest being absorbed). The brighter regions on the moon are the mountainous highlands, where the terrain is rough and strewn with rocky rubble. The lunar mountain ranges, with heights up to 25,000 ft (7800 m), are comparable to the highest mountains on earth but in general are not very steep. The highlands are densely scarred by thousands of craters—shallow circular depressions, usually ringed by well-defined walls and often possessing a central peak. Craters range in diameter from a few feet to many miles, and in some regions there are so many that they overlap or several smaller craters lie within a large crater. Craters are also found on the maria, although there are nowhere near as many as in the lunar highlands. Other prominent surface features include the rilles and rays. Rilles are sinuous, canyonlike clefts found near the edges of mountain ranges. Rays are bright streaks radiating outward from certain craters, such as Tycho.

Mare and highland rocks differ in both appearance and chemical content. For example, mare rocks are richer in iron and poorer in aluminum than highland rocks. The maria consist largely of basalt, i.e., igneous rock formed from magma. In the highlands the majority of the rocks are breccias—conglomerates formed from basaltic rock and often studded with small, green, glassy spheres. These spheres probably were formed as the spray of molten rock, originally melted by the heat of meteorite impact, recongealed in midflight. The exposure ages of some rocks (the time their surfaces have been exposed to the action of cosmic rays that produce radioactive isotopes) are as short as 50 million years, much shorter than their crystallization ages. These rocks may have been shifted in position by meteorite impact or seismic activity (moonquakes). However, present lunar seismic activity is very low, corroborating the image of the moon as an essentially static, nonevolving world.

Internal Structure
Diffraction of seismic waves provided the first clear-cut evidence for a lunar crust, mantle, and core analogous to those of the earth. The lunar crust is about 45 mi (70 km) thick, making the moon a rigid solid to a greater depth than the earth. The inner core has a radius of about 600 mi (1,000 km), about 2/3 of the radius of the moon itself. The internal temperature decreases from 830°C (1,530°F) at the center to 170°C (340°F) near the surface. The heat traveling outward near the lunar surface is about half that of the earth but still twice that predicted by current theory. This heat flow is directly related to the rate of internal energy production, so that the internal temperature profile provides information about long-lived radio isotopes and the moon's thermal evolution. The heat-flow measurements indicate that the moon's radioactive content is higher than that of the earth. The moon's magnetic field is a million times weaker than that of the earth, but it varies by a factor of 20 from point to point on the surface. Certain rocks retain a high magnetization, indicating that they crystallized in the presence of magnetic fields much higher than those presently existing on the moon. Mascons are large concentrations of unusually high density that are located below certain of the circular maria. The mascons may have been created by the implantation of very dense, iron-rich meteorites, whose impact formed the mare basins themselves.

Formation and Evolution
The moon probably formed by the cold accretion of small particles about 4.6 billion years ago at the same time that the rest of the solar system formed; thus, it is now believed that the moon was never in an entirely molten state. The crust, showing pronounced chemical differentiation, formed early. Subsequent impact of very large meteorites depressed the mare basins, at the same time thrusting up the surrounding crust to form the highlands. The mare basins later filled with lava flow, which in turn was covered by a thin layer of lunar “soil”—fine rock dust pulverized by the very slow mechanisms of lunar erosion (thermal cycling, solar wind, and micrometeorites). The craters were probably also formed by meteorite bombardment rather than by internal volcanic action as once believed. The rays surrounding the craters are material ejected during the impacts that formed the craters. The moon's rock types are correlated with its major geological periods.

Answer 2

Since the moon has only small traces of water,has no atmosphere or life it also has no magnetic field.It shows the same side to us because for each revolution it makes 1 complete rotation on its axis occurs.When our solar system was very young the earth as well as other planets and moons were giant pieces of molten matter.Some astronomers believe that there was a collision between the primordial earth and another smaller molten mass.The impact displaced matter which later cooled.This matter was very similar to the composition of the earths crust.But the earth has other matter than just crust.The primordial moon was captured by the earths gravity where it remains today.

Answer 3

its smaller
it´s a moon not a planet
it has less gravity
it´s unable to support any Earth dwelling creature
it hasn´t got any water
it doesn´t have a monn(?)
the days and nights are shorter... the list is almost endless

in the grand scale of things an easier question would have been what do the Earth and the Moon have in common, the answer.. not much when compared to the amount of different things

Answer 4

the moon is:
smaller
not a planet, but a satelite
have no atmosfer
just 1/16 gravity from earth

Answer 5

no atmosphere on the moon, gravity is less than that of earth, the moon orbits the earth where the earth orbits the sun...there are many ways

Answer 6

It is different because moon is a satellite..... In the moon, no one can live there unlike the Earth.....

Answer 7

chit, are you your own source? If you are then aren't you a retard?
The moon is a satillite (it orbits us, not the sun) , it has no atmosphere, it has less mass, it has no life.

Johnathan, did you ever take elementary science?
the moon has gravity, just 1/6 as much as earth. Every object in the universe with mass (so pretty much everything) has gravity.

Answer 8

the earth is a planet and the moon isnt

Answer 9

The moon is a satellite and not a planet. We have water and they don't. Earth is bigger and weighs more.

Answer 10

in accordance to Newtons rules of gravitation, Mass of a physique is substantial interior the fee and nature of the Gravitational stress and is without delay proportional it. using fact the mass of the moon is plenty lesser than the earth, the adaptation interior the stress is asserted.

Answer 11

There is no life, not much air, no sun protection, no water or plants, 1/3rd amount of gravity of earth. no seasons, 1 side gets light, 1 side never does, no moon rats or cockroaches, no green cheese, no nothing like earth. Just dusty, rocky, crater pocked, unfriendly nothing much.