Features of the Moon
The temperature on the moon's surface is extreme, with daytime temperature that reaches a scorching 130ºC, and drops at night to a freezing -180ºC. This is due to the lack of atmosphere. Due to the weak gravity of the moon, it cannot hold its atmosphere so gases easily escape the lunar surface. Whatever the heat the moon receives from the sun easily evaporates.
There is no water on the moon; however, astronomers have gathered evidence of large patches of ice on it. Some of these areas are shielded from direct sunlight by crater walls. Unlike Earth, the moon cannot support life because of the lack of an atmosphere and of water.
The moon moves in space in two ways: it revolves around Earth and also rotates on its own axis. It takes the moon about 27.3 days to revolve around Earth. The moon rotates slowly along its axis once every 27.3 days as well. Because the moon revolves around Earth at the same time, a "day" and a "year" on the moon are always the same. The motion of the moon around Earth is called revolution.
