Exhibit Codex
The Moon
Earth’s natural satellite preserves an ancient record of impacts and volcanic activity.
Open interactive exhibit ↗About this exhibit
Natural satellite
Reference and coverage
Time scaling is shared with the interactive atlas. Surface interpretations and reconstructed history have different levels of certainty.
Planetary record
A record of impacts
Bright highlands are older than the broad dark basalt plains called maria. Without strong atmospheric erosion, many impact structures remain visible for billions of years.
Orbit & tides
The Moon keeps nearly the same face toward Earth because its rotation is synchronized with its orbit. Its gravity contributes to ocean tides. The atlas does not calculate lunar libration or eclipses.
Origins
A giant impact early in Earth’s history is the leading explanation for lunar formation. Details of the impact and subsequent evolution remain active research.
Time in this exhibit
4.6 billion years ago · Cloud & disk
The young Sun is surrounded by a disk of gas and dust. Planet formation is underway.
4.54 billion years ago · Young planets
The terrestrial planets are growing through accretion and impacts. Their orbits and surfaces continue to evolve.
Present · Modern system
Eight planets orbit our Sun. This layout compresses distances and adjusts sizes to make every world accessible.
Read the detailed records
Open the full exhibit Codex for individual structure records and time-specific information. The Credits page lists source creators, licenses and adaptations.