International Moon Day: 5 myths and facts about Earth’s satellite

Every year July 20 is celebrated as International Moon Day. Long before when not much was known about the moon, many poems and love songs were dedicated to it. And even today, its misty brightness in the night continues to instigate romantic vibes among the young.

Along with that though, there have been many myths related to the moon. While many such myths have now been busted by science, there are many more that continue to be believed across the world.

Is one side of the moon permanently dark?

Only one side of the moon is visible from the Earth but that does not mean that its one side is permanently dark. Rather the side that is not visible is fully illuminated by sunlight during the lunar daytime and in darkness during the lunar night.

To mark this milestone, we're broadcasting our original footage of the Apollo 11 moonwalk on NASA TV, starting at 5pm ET (21:00 UTC): https://t.co/vMxa9le9Ti

...or take an in-depth look back at the mission on Apollo in Real Time: https://t.co/Uf0WoAGLF5 #InternationalMoonDay pic.twitter.com/OrBWW631Ib

— NASA (@NASA) July 20, 2022

The shape of moon is round

From the Earth, the moon appears round or spherical to the human eye, and hence naturally we assume that the moon is spherical. However, in reality, the moon’s shape is oblate spheroid which means it has the shape of a ball with a flattened surface.

Is moon bright or white?

If you see the moon in a clear sky, it seems that the colour of the moon is bright or white. But it seems so bright because the sky is very dark when it rises. So, what is its colour like?

The moon does not have any colour as it does not have light of its own but rather whatever we see is the reflected sunlight and hence colour, in this case, is subjective.

Moon has no gravity

Of course, the moon has gravity. The entire existence of the universe is based on the pull of gravity and in its absence nothing could have continued in automation the way it is going on for millions of years.

However, the gravity on Earth is much more than that of the moon and that is why you feel or weigh lighter when on the moon.

🌓🌍The Moon has been travelling with us for over 4.5 billion years but is now moving away at a pace our fingernails grow.

🥘We also know the best diet is the Moon diet! Land there and you go from 100kg to 16,5kg.

🫁 Be careful when breathing, though!#InternationalMoonDay pic.twitter.com/MZ4YrdIjdc

— UNOOSA (@UNOOSA) July 17, 2023

Moon causes tides in oceans

It is a proven fact that the moon causes tides in the oceans. But there are many people who also believe that it also causes tides in people.

Since the tides are caused due to gravitational pull and the impact is only possible, if the size of the two objects is almost similar (like the moon and Earth), even if the satellite is causing tides in humans, it is inconsequential and should not be taken into consideration.