Despite attempts by hopeful scientists to prove otherwise, even if the celestial object would be small, our Moon is the Earth’s only permanent natural satellite. There are temporary mini-moons.

239,000 miles is the average distance between the Earth and the Moon. Shockingly, you could fit all the other planets in the space between.

The far side of the Moon was something we never saw until 1959, when the Soviet Union’s Luna 3 sent back images.

The Moon barely has an atmosphere, but because it almost doesn’t exist, there is no breathable air (nor weather).

The surface of the Moon is so non-reflective that asphalt is about the same.

4.5 billion years ago, it was likely the Moon was formed when Earth collided with a Mars-sized body.

127°C is the high temperature of the Moon in the light, -173°C is the coldest point in the dark.

The Moon controls the Earth’s ocean tides and also deforms the Earth’s crust.

NASA has landed on the Moon six times with manned missions from 1969–1972. More than 100 robots have been sent up as well.

Astronauts say lunar dust smells like burnt fireworks or spent gunpowder.

Moonlight is really just reflected sunlight.

The Moon’s gravity is about 1/6 of the Earth’s, and the Moon is about 1/4 of the diameter.

Some Moon rocks are magnetic, which suggests the Moon had a magnetic field similar to Earth’s.

Lunar comes from the Latin Luna, which means Moon.

The Moon isn’t really shaped like a simple ball, it’s technically slightly egg-shaped.

Astronauts have left almost 100 bags of waste on the Moon.

The American flag (and most other things with color left on the Moon) have been bleached white by the Sun.

Apollo 11 had only 30 seconds of fuel to spare when it landed on the Moon.

Buzz Aldrin, via a special tube, was the first to go number one on the Moon.