HELLO,MOON!
That bright round thing in the night sky is the Moon. It is your neighbour in space! Tap the Moon and it will tell you a secret.
What is the Moon?
The Moon is a huge ball of rock. It is not made of cheese, even though it looks a bit like one!
The Moon is much, much smaller than our Earth. And the Moon has no air. So nobody can breathe there, and no birds can fly there, and no wind can blow.
The Moon is like Earth's best friend. It goes around and around the Earth, all day, all night, forever. It has done this for a very, very long time.
How far away?
238,855 miles!
If you drove a car up, up, up to the Moon without stopping, it would take you about six months. Even the fastest rocket only takes three days.
Make a crater!
The Moon is covered in holes called craters. A crater is made when a space rock zooms into the Moon. BOOM!
The Moon has no air to slow the rocks down, so wham — right into the ground. Earth has air, so most rocks burn up before they land. That is why Earth has fewer craters.
You made 0 craters!
Fun bit: on the Moon there is no wind and no rain, so a footprint stays there for millions of years. The first footprints are probably still there right now!
The Moon plays dress-up
The Moon changes its shape every night! It goes from nothing at all to a whole big circle and back again. It takes about one month — that is where the word month comes from.
Full Moon
The whole round Moon, big and bright!
How much you can see: 100%
The Moon walks around the Earth…
Why does it change shape?
Here is the big secret: the Moon does not make its own light. The Sun shines on the Moon, like a torch on a ball, and the Moon bounces the light to your eyes.
The Sun is over there → and it lights up one half of the Moon. Always. Only one half.
The Moon walks around the Earth. As it walks, we see more and less of the lit half.
When we see the whole lit half — FULL MOON! When we see the dark half — the Moon hides. That is called a new moon.
Eight Moon wowzers
Pick a card. Read it. Say “wow” out loud. That is the rule.
You could jump so high
The Moon pulls you less hard than Earth does. On the Moon, you weigh six times less. One little jump feels like flying!
Hot, then freezing
In Moon sunshine it is hot enough to boil water — 260°F. In the shade it is -290°F. No air means no cosy blanket.
Footprints that never go
No wind, no rain, no doggies. So the footprints left by astronauts in 1969 are still there today.
Super duper quiet
Sound needs air to travel. The Moon has none. So nobody can shout there. Astronauts talk with radios instead.
The same face, always
The Moon spins as it walks around Earth, so we always see the same side. The back side is a whole surprise.
It is drifting away!
Every year the Moon gets 3.8 cm further from us. That is about how much your fingernail grows. Slowly, slowly, it is leaving.
Moonquakes
The Moon shakes too! But instead of rumbling, the ground rings like a big bell for a long, long time.
Blood Moon & Harvest Moon
Sometimes the Moon turns orange or red when it rises. Our air scatters the light and paints the Moon like a sunset.
Moon vs Earth
Look at the difference! The Earth is the big one. The Moon is only a quarter as wide.
4 Earths
across =
1 Moon line 📐
And guess what? You could line up thirty whole Earths in the gap between us and the Moon!
A silly true table
| Thing | 🌍 Earth | 🌙 Moon |
|---|---|---|
| Sky colour | Blue | Black, even at noon |
| Air to breathe | Yes, please! | None at all |
| Weather | Rain, snow, wind | Nothing. Always still |
| One day lasts | 24 hours | About a whole month |
| Living things | You! Dogs! Trees! | Zero. Not even a bug |
| Footprints | Blow away soon | Stay for ever |
| Gravity | Normal | Jump like a kangaroo |
Let's JUMP!
Press the button and the little astronaut will jump. First on Earth. Then… on the Moon! Same jump, but six times higher, because the Moon is smaller and pulls less.
Astronauts wore heavy suits with big boots, so bouncing was hard work. They hopped along like bunnies and had so much fun they took loads of photos.
People walked on the Moon
A long time ago, in 1969, a rocket called Apollo 11 flew up, up, up with three astronauts inside. Two of them got into a tiny little ship and landed on the Moon.
🚀 Blast off
The rocket shook and roared and pushed them into their seats. It took three whole days to get there.
🛰️ One small step
Neil Armstrong climbed down the ladder and said: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Then Buzz came down too.
🪨 Bouncing and digging
They collected 47 pounds of Moon rocks, planted a flag, drove a little Moon car on a later trip, and did lots of jumping.
🌊 Splash down
They flew home and landed in the sea with a big SPLASH, hanging from orange parachutes.
Nobody has walked on the Moon since 1972. But now we are going back — and this time, maybe you could go!
A Moon rhyme
Mr Moon, Mr Moon,
shine your big silver spoon.
Turn into a banana,
then a plate — and then a …
NOTHING! (hide away)
Come back tomorrow,
round as a pillow,
and light up the meadow. 🌙
Big words, small meanings
- Crater
- A hole made by a space rock going boom.
- Orbit
- The circle path you make when you go round and round something. The Moon orbits Earth.
- Phase
- The shape the Moon looks like that night. Full, half, banana, or hidden.
- Gravity
- The invisible pull that keeps your feet on the ground and the Moon next to us.
- Astronaut
- A person trained to travel in space. Also called a “spaceman” or “spacewoman”.
Moon quiz!
Five questions. Tap the answer you think is right. Wrong is fine — that is how you learn!
Say goodnight
The Moon has been up all night lighting the sea, the roads and the owls. Now it is tired. Tap every star to turn it off, and the Moon will go to sleep.
⭐ 0 stars still twinkling…
Goodnight, Moon. Goodnight, you. See you tomorrow night — you will be a little bit skinnier by then!