Thread by @MiningNS

This week is the 50th anniversary of the #Apollo11 #LunarLanding - 1 giant leap for mankind that helped us understand the #Moon and also gave us a better understanding of #Earth. We are posting some neat facts about the Moon this week!
#Apollo50th
#nspoli #NovaScotia #NS #geology

A planet the size of #Mars crashed into Earth 4.5 billion years ago. The force was so great that it sent materials from #Earth and the planet flying into space. Some of this debris stuck together to make the #Moon. Earth's gravity held it in our orbit.
#Apollo50th
#nspoli #NS

#Earth's surface is constantly changed by forces like plate tectonics and erosion so Earth's first rocks are lost to us. But we learn about Earth's early days by studying the moon since it's mostly static. #Apollo11 brought back 50 #moon rocks, some 3.7 billion years old.
#nspoli

The oldest known #Earth rock wasn't found on Earth - it was found on the #Moon! 4 billion years old, it was brought back to earth by #Apollo14. It's believed the rock was debris from an asteroid crashing into early earth. The force sent it flying to the Moon.
#nspoli #Apollo50th

Tides caused by the #Moon's gravity slow #Earth's rotation a fraction of a second each century. 4.5 billion years ago, days were 5 hours long, not 24.
If you think there aren't enough hours in a day, wait 180 million years - days will be 25 hours!
#nspoli #Apollo50th #NovaScotia

We say "the" moon but there are actually 194 moons orbiting planets in our solar system. #Jupiter has 79 moons, #Saturn has 62… #Venus and #Mercury don't have any. #Earth is the only planet that has a single #moon.
solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/in-depth/
#nspoli #NovaScotia #NS
#apollo50th

As Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the #Moon, the Lunar Module's computer system flew off course toward a boulder-strewn crater. Armstrong took over and landed manually in a safe area - 4 miles off target - with less than 30 seconds of fuel left!
#nspoli #NovaScotia #Apollo50th