The moon is old. Older than your Grandma! It was formed about 4.5 billion years ago when our Earth (which was smaller than it is now) collided with another planetoid about the size of Mars.
An explosion that big would blow the pens off all the seismometers and then melt or vaporize them. It's a good thing Richter hadn't invented his scale yet.
Part of the Planetoid embedded itself into the earth, making it larger like the planet we know today. What happened to the rest of it? The debris was thrown into orbit from the impact, colliding against other bits of debris and eventually sticking together. It became Earth's first and only natural satellite..
Why does it have so many funny pock marks all over? They are impact craters from collisions with space debris, and many of them are HUGE!
The Earth is not the only planet with a moon. Saturn is an overachiever with moons - it has 53 that have been discovered so far! They are all named after ancient Greek mythological characters and they aren't all nice and round like Earth's Moon is. This moon from Saturn is called Pandora and it is shaped like a potato.
Logging Tasks:
1. Go to the moon.
2. Examine the craters. Are they impact craters or Acne? Estimate how many barrels of Benzoyl Peroxide it will take to treat the pock marked surface.
3. Look for doors as you walk around estimating crater size. Any door will surely be the residence of the Man in the Moon. If you ask him, he will give you a moon pie for the return journey.
4. Visit the dark side of the moon and say in your log which member of Pink Floyd has built his space estate there.
5. Watch for celebrities that have faked their own death. Perhaps you will see Elvis, Amelia Earhart, or D.B. Cooper! If you discovered anyone, identify them in your log.
6. Optional: Post a photo of yourself in the Sea of Tranquility.