Earth’s Moon Poster – Version B

Astronaut on the Moon in front of the American flag.
August 19, 2018
CreditNASA
Language
  • english

Version A of the Moon installment of our solar system poster series.

The posters are best printed on 11x17 paper. Several download options are available in the column on the right.

About the image: An Apollo 17 astronaut standing on the lunar surface. Credit: NASA

On the Back

Earth's Moon is the only place beyond Earth where humans have set foot, so far.

The brightest and largest object in our night sky, the Moon makes Earth a more livable planet by moderating our home planet's wobble on its axis, leading to a relatively stable climate. It also causes tides, creating a rhythm that has guided humans for thousands of years. The Moon was likely formed after a Mars-sized body collided with Earth several billion years ago.

Back of Moon poster with orbit diagram and size comparison
Optional back with a brief summary and orbit diagram.

Earth's only natural satellite is simply called "the Moon" because people didn't know other moons existed until Galileo Galilei discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610. In Latin, the Moon was called Luna, which is the main adjective for all things Moon-related: lunar.

Explore Earth's Moon in depth at https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moon