The Moon
The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite—a rocky, cratered body about one‑quarter the diameter of Earth, orbiting at an average distance of approximately 384,400 km. It influences tides, stabilizes Earth’s axial tilt, and was formed about 4.5 billion years ago following a collision between Earth and a Mars-sized object.
Source: science.nasa.gov
APODs including "The Moon"
Circle 'round the Moon
13/02/2009
If your sister-in-law phoned you at 1am to tell you there was a circle around the Moon, how would you react? When it happened to him early last Sunday morning, photographer Laurent Laveder, grabbed his equipment and ran outside! He was rewarded with the sight of a bright lunar halo shining in his neighborhood skies above Quimper, France. With a radius of 22 degrees, the beautiful halo is produced by the refraction of moonlight in hexagonal-shaped ice crystals formed in thin, high clouds. Laveder captured a series of digital images that he used to create this composite fisheye view as well as a remarkable 360 degree VR panorama.