A Book of Questions and Answers
The Moon
Professor Genius
Is the Moon a star?
Where does the Moon hide
during the day?
Who has gone to the Moon?
Is there water on the Moon?
Could we live on the Moon?
QA INTERNATIONAL
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My Notebook of Questions
The Moon
by Professor Genius
QA INTERNATIONAL
Publication
Canada Cataloguing in
Library and Archives
Professor Genius
The Moon
stions)
(My Notebook of Que
Includes an index
up
For readers age 7 and
-4
ISBN 978-2-7644-0908
erence
Moon — Illustrated ref
books for children. 2.
1. Moon — Reference
lection
ks for children. I. Col
books — Reference boo
by:
The Moon, My Notebook of Questions was designed and produced
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
10 09 08 07 06
resemblance to actual
s’s universe are pure fantasy. Any
The characters in Professor Geniu
contain are accurate, the
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living persons is entirely coinc
the professor’s personal
books and magazines drawn from
newspaper articles, old letters,
this notebook.
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Contents
Is the Moon a kind of star? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
How long would it take to go to the Moon by bicycle? . . . . . . 8
Why is the Moon called “Moon”? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
What can lunar rocks tell us? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
What happens during an eclipse of the Moon? . . . . . . . . . 18
Why does the Moon seem to follow us when we’re riding in a car? . 21
Do all the planets have a moon? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
What does the Moon look like? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
What are the dark spots we see on the Moon? . . . . . . . . . 29
What keeps the Moon close to Earth? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Who has gone to the Moon? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Will we be able to see the other side of the Moon someday? . . 40
How does the Moon make the tides? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Where does the Moon go during the day? . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Why did the astronauts bounce when they walked on the Moon? . 49
What does the Moon’s hidden side look like? . . . . . . . . . . . 52
How does the Moon change its shape? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Is it true that strange things happen during a full Moon? . . 62
Is there water on the Moon? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
What are the pictures we see on the Moon? . . . . . . . . . . 67
Do lunar rocks look like our rocks? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
What’s inside the Moon? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Why is the Moon full of holes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Could we live on the Moon? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
What would happen if the Moon weren’t there anymore? . . . 80
What does it mean “many moons ago”? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Is it hot or cold on the Moon? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Could we drink “moon water”someday? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
What did the astronauts Extrait
do when
they went to the Moon? . . .91
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To all those who open this notebook,
Have you ever been fascinated by the full Moon — so
round and so brightly shining in the starry sky? Our
nighttime companion inspires many questions from
curious young readers like you! Is the Moon a kind of
star? What does the Moon look like? Where does
the Moon go during the day? What does it mean
“many moons ago”? These are just a few of the
questions children send me. I’ve collected quite a few,
and have decided to answer them in this notebook.
To help you really understand my explanations, I’ve
pasted in some photos and drawings, and I’ve made
some very simple diagrams for you, too. I hope you
will find the answers you are looking for here.
Don’t forget, scientists ask themselves new questions
every day.. That’s how they advance in their research
and make new discoveries. Like them, always
continue to ask yourself questions, and to be
amazed by what you see in the world
around you!
Happy reading!
Professor Genius
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Dear Professor,
South America
Is the Moon a kind of star?
Max, age 7
Atacama Desert
Hello, Max!
A few months ago, my friend Dr. Izin
Spaice and I decided to take a long bicycle
trip through the Atacama Desert in South
America. We were both very excited about
visiting one of the most powerful telescopes
in the world, the VLT (Very Large
Telescope). Sometimes we rode at night to
get to our destination faster. I can assure
you right now, Max, that our nighttime rides
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5
were not the least
bit dangerous
because our
helmets, clothes,
and bicycles were
all equipped
with reflectors.
VLT (Very La rge Telescope)
Thanks to those little mirrors that
reflect the lights of passing vehicles,
we were completely visible and safe.
You are probably asking yourself
what my bicycle adventure has to do
with your question, right? I’m getting to it!
6
You see, even if the Moon seems to be the
biggest object in the night sky, it is not a
star. A star is a celestial body that makes
its own light and heat, just like the
Sun. Our faithful companion, the
Moon, produces neither light nor
heat. All it does is reflect the
light of the Sun, a little like a
giant bicycle reflector
floating in the sky..
Regards,
Professor Genius
7
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ed if
ould I ne on
w
e
im
t
h
How muc go to the Moon
to
I wanted
le?
my bicyc
rofessor!
P
,
s
k
n
a
Th
age 9
Daphne,
Dear Daphne,
Sometimes the Moon is so big and bright in
the sky that some nights even I believe that
I could get there before sunrise! In a book
by Cyrano de Bergerac, written more than
300 years ago, the hero dreams of making
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8
this great voyage by
attaching little bottles
of dew to his belt!
He hopes that as the
dew evaporates in the
light of dawn, the
dewdrops will carry
him up to the Moon.
It’s quite a poetic idea,
and just as original as your own! However,
let’s get back to your question, Miss
Daydreamer, and do a little mathematical
gymnastics:
- The Moon is about 239,227 miles
(385,000 km) from Earth.
- Normally, we could expect to travel at
least 6.2 miles (10 km) an hour by bicycle.
Therefore, according to my calculations, it would
take us about four-and-a-half years to get to
9
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the Moon, and that’s pedaling without stopping.
Whew… no wonder they invented rockets!
first
e
h
t
,
1
1
ol lo
p
A
the
t
n
a
o
h
t
d
n
now nauts to la
k
(or
u
o
s
y
e
t
u
o
n
i
r
Did
t
m
h as s and 45
it
w
n
here?
o
i
t
r
t
u
e
o
miss
g
h
o
102
ys) t e… and
k
a
o
d
o
t
f
l
,
a
n
h
Moo ur-and-aicycl
b
a
n
a
o
about f a lot faster th that matter!
That’s rops, too, for
dewd
Best regards,
Professor Genius
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10
Hello!
Why is the Moon
called “Moon”?
Diane, age 7
Dear Diane,
The name “Moon” comes from the Latin
word luna, which means luminous or bright.
Latin is a very old language that gave birth
to several other languages spoken today, like
French, Italian, and Spanish. Because the
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11
Moon is the brightest object in
the night sky, it comes as no
surprise that our ancestors named
it that way!
There are several languages that have a word
for the Moon that comes from the Latin luna.
Here is a little glossary of the words for
Moon in different languages:
French: Lune
Danish: Mane
Italian: Luna
Russian: Luna
Spanish: Luna
Dutch: Maan
Portuguese: Lua
Japanese: Getsu
Greek: Selini
Turkish: Ay
Polish: Ksiezyc
Catalan: Lluna
German: Mond
Finnish: Kuu
Arab: Qamar
Hungarian: Hold
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12
Did you know, Diane, that the Moon has
inspired a number of names for things
found in nature? I’m thinking of moonfish
for example, which are large, round, and
silvery, and of the moonwort, whose tiny,
dried-out, disk-shaped seed pods reflect the
moonlight. And that’s not all! Look at your
hands closely.. Do you see the little white
semicircles at the base of your fingernails?
We call those “half-moons” because that’s
exactly what they look like!
Your friend,
Professor Genius
13
Dear Professor Genius,
I’m on vacation with my parents in Japan. Yesterday we
visited Space World in Kita-Kyüshü. I saw some moon
rock samples there. My father told me that, thanks to
these rocks, astronomers and geologists were able to
figure out when and how the Moon was formed.
How can they see all that in a simple pebble?
Domo arigato
(that means “thank you very much” in Japanese),
Louis-Philippe, age 11
flag of Japan
14
Kon nee chee wa (Hello), Louis-Philippe!
Lucky you! Japan is a marvelous country..
Have you had a chance to taste odango
yet? It’s a sweet dumpling that is
very popular in Japan.
Oy shee, oy shee
(delicious)!
Let’s get back to
your question.
The astronauts
brought back almost 900 pounds (400 kg)
of rocks, sand, and dust from the Moon’s
surface and crust. Astronomers and
geologists carefully examined these
materials and studied their composition.
Do you know what? They found that the
rocks looked a lot like our good old Earth
rocks! The scientists’ research also showed
that Earth and the Moon are the same
age (about 4.5 billion years old) and that
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15
they may once have formed a single planet!
Allow me to explain…
According to the most popular theory, a
celestial body the size of the planet Mars
would have collided with Earth when it
was still a very young planet. This collision
would have broken off a large section of
Earth’s surface. The debris from this cosmic
accident would have drifted in space, and,
over time, would have “glued” back
together to form the Moon. I’ve pasted a
picture below that illustrates this theory..
Earth
debris from the collision
16
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Moon
Moon rocks can
be found in the
collections of
Lunar rock
several museums
today.. In Canada,
you can visit the Cosmodôme Space Science
Centre in Laval, the Ontario Science Centre
in Toronto, and the H.R. MacMillan Space
Centre in Vancouver. A number of museums
in Europe, as well as the United States, also
have their own precious “pebbles.”
17
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Dear Professor,
I found this pictur
e in a science mag
azine.
It’s an eclipse of
the Moon. I find it
so
amazing! Could you
explain to me wha
t
happens during a lu
nar eclipse and te
ll me
when I would be ab
le to see one with
my
own eyes?
Thanks!
Joel, age 9
Dear friend,
To answer your “timely” question, a lunar
eclipse takes place when Earth passes
between the Moon and the Sun. At this
moment, Earth receives the Sun’s rays, but
18
Photo credits
p. 6: European Southern Observatory / p. 9: Public domain / p. 17: NASA /
p. 25 t: NASA, c: JPL/NASA, b: JPL/NASA / p. 29: Alexey Sergeev / p. 38 l and
r: NASA / p. 39 b: NASA / p. 45 t and b: Ministry of Tourism and Parks, New
Brunswick / p. 55 b: NASA/NSSDC / p. 67: Christian Roux / p. 70: NASA /
p. 72: NASA / p. 93: NASA
In the absence of additional information, photographs are situated as follows:
t top — c center — b bottom — l left — r right
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A Book of Questions and Answers
The Moon
Professor Genius
WHY DOES THE MOON GLOW?
WHERE DOES IT GO DURING THE DAY?
HOW DOES THE MOON MAKE THE TIDES?
The Moon is a fascinating subject.
This celestial body has always raised many
questions in the curious minds of children.
The wise and friendly Professor Genius has
gathered in this book some of the most frequent
questions that he receives from children
about the Moon. He answers each question
in a clear and enlightening way,
adding notes, sketches,
facts or photographs to help
the reader understand.
www.qa-international.com
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