A woman steps over the line into the unthinkable in this brilliant, powerful and unforgettable novel by the author of The Lovely Bones. There are still many questions left to answer about the Moon. And the most exciting days of lunar activity may still lie ahead as NASA sends humans on the next missions to the Moon and eventually on to Mars! For more information visit: With the different positions of the Moon, different areas of it are illuminated by the Sun. This illumination of different lunar areas, as viewed from Earth, produces the different lunar phases during the synodic month. A phase is equal to the area of the visible lunar sphere that is illuminated by the Sun. This area or degree of illumination is given by ( 1 − cos ⁡ e ) / 2 = sin 2 ⁡ ( e / 2 ) {\displaystyle (1-\cos e)/2=\sin The prevailing theory is that the Earth–Moon system formed after a giant impact of a Mars-sized body (named Theia) with the proto-Earth. The oblique impact blasted material into orbit about the Earth and the material accreted and formed the Moon [44] [45] just beyond the Earth's Roche limit of ~ 2.56 R 🜨. [46] Giant impacts are thought to have been common in the early Solar System. Computer simulations of giant impacts have produced results that are consistent with the mass of the lunar core and the angular momentum of the Earth–Moon system. These simulations show that most of the Moon derived from the impactor, rather than the proto-Earth. [47] However, models from 2007 and later suggest a larger fraction of the Moon derived from the proto-Earth. [48] [49] [50] [51] Other bodies of the inner Solar System such as Mars and Vesta have, according to meteorites from them, very different oxygen and tungsten isotopic compositions compared to Earth. However, Earth and the Moon have nearly identical isotopic compositions. The isotopic equalization of the Earth-Moon system might be explained by the post-impact mixing of the vaporized material that formed the two, [52] although this is debated. [53]

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold | Goodreads The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold | Goodreads

The Greek goddess of the wilderness and the hunt, Artemis, equated with the Roman Diana, one of whose symbols was the Moon and who was often regarded as the goddess of the Moon, was also called Cynthia, from her legendary birthplace on Mount Cynthus. [34] These names – Luna, Cynthia and Selene – are reflected in technical terms for lunar orbits such as apolune, pericynthion and selenocentric.The lunar geological periods are named after their characteristic features, from most impact craters outside the dark mare, to the mare and later craters, and finally the young, still bright and therefore readily visible craters with ray systems like Copernicus or Tycho. Isotope dating of lunar samples suggests the Moon formed around 50million years after the origin of the Solar System. [37] [38] Historically, several formation mechanisms have been proposed, [39] but none satisfactorily explains the features of the Earth–Moon system. A fission of the Moon from Earth's crust through centrifugal force [40] would require too great an initial rotation rate of Earth. [41] Gravitational capture of a pre-formed Moon [42] depends on an unfeasibly extended atmosphere of Earth to dissipate the energy of the passing Moon. [41] A co-formation of Earth and the Moon together in the primordial accretion disk does not explain the depletion of metals in the Moon. [41] None of these hypotheses can account for the high angular momentum of the Earth–Moon system. [43] As a result, the timing of the tides at most points on the Earth is a product of observations that are explained, incidentally, by theory. Main articles: Internal structure of the Moon and Geology of the Moon Moon's internal structure: solid inner core (iron-metallic), molten outer core, hardened mantle and crust. The crust on the Moon's near side permanently facing Earth is thinner, featuring larger areas flooded by material of the once molten mantle forming today's lunar mare.

Summary and reviews of The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

Helen Knightly has spent a lifetime trying to win the love of a mother who had none to spare. And as this electrifying novel opens, she steps over a boundary she never dreamt she would even approach. But while her act is almost unconscious, it also seems like the fulfilment of a lifetime's buried desire. Over the next twenty-four hours, her life rushes in at her as she confronts the choices that have brought her to this crossroads.While Earth's regolith is formed by erosion and weather, on the Moon it all comes from meteor impacts as the surface is blasted into fine pieces. In some places, this lunar regolith is just three metres deep, while in others parts it has settled into drifts some 20 metres deep. How does the Moon cause the tides?

Moon: NASA Science Overview | Composition – Moon: NASA Science

In May 2011, 615–1410 ppm water in melt inclusions in lunar sample 74220 was reported, [156] the famous high-titanium "orange glass soil" of volcanic origin collected during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The inclusions were formed during explosive eruptions on the Moon approximately 3.7 billion years ago. This concentration is comparable with that of magma in Earth's upper mantle. Although of considerable selenological interest, this insight does not mean that water is easily available since the sample originated many kilometers below the surface, and the inclusions are so difficult to access that it took 39 years to find them with a state-of-the-art ion microprobe instrument. Analysis of the findings of the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) revealed in August 2018 for the first time "definitive evidence" for water-ice on the lunar surface. [157] [158] The data revealed the distinct reflective signatures of water-ice, as opposed to dust and other reflective substances. [159] The ice deposits were found on the North and South poles, although it is more abundant in the South, where water is trapped in permanently shadowed craters and crevices, allowing it to persist as ice on the surface since they are shielded from the sun. [157] [159] The Moon is one of the most recognisable objects in the solar system. This proximity to Earth has given it immeasurable cultural significance and means it plays a key role in Earth's tides. At the North and South Poles the Moon is 24 hours above the horizon for two weeks every tropical month (about 27.3 days), comparable to the polar day of the tropical year. Zooplankton in the Arctic use moonlight when the Sun is below the horizon for months on end. [182]The lunar surface is covered in lunar dust and marked by mountains, impact craters, their ejecta, ray-like streaks and, mostly on the near side of the Moon, by dark maria ("seas"), which are plains of cooled magma. These maria formed when large impacts on the far side of the Moon heated up low lying layers of its crust on the near side. The English adjective pertaining to the Moon is "lunar", derived from the Latin word for the Moon, lūna. Selenian / s ə l iː n i ə n/ [28] is an adjective used to describe the Moon as a world, rather than as a celestial object, [29] but its use is rare. It is derived from σελήνη selēnē, the Greek word for the Moon, and its cognate selenic was originally a rare synonym [30] but now nearly always refers to the chemical element selenium. [31] The element name selenium and the prefix seleno- (as in selenography, the study of the physical features of the Moon) come from this Greek word. [32] [33] The impact would have released enough energy to liquefy both the ejecta and the Earth's crust, forming a magma ocean. The liquefied ejecta could have then re-accreted into the Earth–Moon system. [54] [55] The newly formed Moon would have had its own lunar magma ocean; its depth is estimated from about 500km (300 miles) to 1,737km (1,079 miles). [54]

The Almost Moon: A Novel: Sebold, Alice: 9780316677462

The novel stays close to Helen Knightly, its narrator, through each detail of the murder, starting with the senile Clair calling Helen "bitch" and soiling herself. Helen starts to clean her, and then impulsively presses the towel over her face until she suffocates. Helen refers to this as the fulfilment of a lifelong dream. In chapter nine, Helen seeks refuge with Mr. Forrest, who provides her an escape from her house. What is the significance to her of the illuminated manuscripts he collects? How does this visit change her view of her own life?Main articles: Tidal force, Tidal acceleration, Tide, and Theory of tides Simplified diagram of the Moon's gravity tidal effect on the Earth The Moon's axial tilt with respect to the ecliptic is only 1.5427°, [8] [101] much less than the 23.44° of Earth. Because of this small tilt, the Moon's solar illumination varies much less with season than on Earth and it allows for the existence of some peaks of eternal light at the Moon's north pole, at the rim of the crater Peary.