Our Universe 3D Page #3

and the Earth went through many changes.

Huge meteors of ice had

brought water from the depths of space,

which now filled the first oceans.

Over time, an atmosphere was formed.

Vaporised water condensed, and returned

to the surface in the form of rain.

A hydrological cycle was set in motion

and over subsequent millions of years,

evaporation and rainfall eroded

the rocky surface of Earth.

The Earth's first supercontinent broke apart

several times, and slowly,

land masses took the shapes

of the continents we know today.

So there it was, Earth as we know it today.

Along with its silent companion, the moon.

Being the closest astral body to Earth,

the moon has fuelled the imagination

of mankind for millennia.

The idea of aliens on the moon

has been communicated

through paintings, songs and literature.

Even some of the first silent movies

depicted life on the moon. But by the time

man first landed on the moon in 1969,

it was rightly

anticipated that the

astronauts would not

encounter any moonsfolk.

Still, the moon remains truly fascinating.

Earth's companion is the fifth largest moon

in our solar system.

It needs four weeks to

orbit once around Earth,

a fact that is mirrored

in our everyday language.

The word "month" is a derivative of "moon".

Through its gravitational pull,

the moon is responsible for the ebb and flow

of tides in our earthly oceans.

It even influences the navigation and

spawning behaviour of some species of fish

and insects down here.

As far as looks are concerned,

the moon remains a bit dull,

because it is completely

covered in grey dust.

The dust layer is produced

by meteor strikes.

Due to the lack of an atmosphere,

they crash onto the surface of the moon

without any damping,

and are pulverised in the process.

The "moon dust" produced this way

actually resembles sand.

Or, scientifically speaking, regolith.

Despite the lack of water up here,

we still group the moon's surface

into areas of "lands" and "seas".

This is due to the antiquated belief that

the dark areas on the moon contained water.

We now know that those "seas" are

in fact basins of solidified lava.

In the moon's early days,

its core was still molten.

Heavy asteroid hits broke through the crust,

and the impact craters

became filled with lava.

Interestingly enough, the moon is

still geologically active today.

In fact, moon-quakes occur

up to 10 times a day.

Most of these are moderate, but some

reach up to Level 5 on the Richter scale.

Fortunately, the rocks up here

don't seem to mind.

Even if the moon's landscape

is lacking variation,

we still have a great view from here.

Our blue mother planet

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