The Moon goes through eight phases each lunar cycle, including the new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter, and waning crescent.
The Moon is tidally locked with Earth, meaning the same side always faces us. This results in the phenomenon known as the "near side" and "far side" of the Moon.
The average distance from Earth to the Moon is about 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers), which can vary slightly due to its elliptical orbit.
The Moon's gravitational pull affects Earth's tides, creating high and low tides in oceans.
The Moon has a very thin atmosphere (exosphere), which means it cannot support life as we know it and experiences extreme temperature fluctuations.
During certain phases, a faint glow can be seen on the dark side of the Moon, caused by sunlight reflecting off Earth—this phenomenon is known as "earthshine".
The Moon's surface features include craters from asteroid impacts and large dark plains called "maria," formed by ancient volcanic activity