The Moon

When you look out at the night sky, the moon is the brightest thing you can see.  Just like the Earth orbits around the Sun, the Moon spins around us.  It is much smaller than the Earth.  In fact, 50 Moons could fit inside the Earth!  The Moon doesn’t shine on its own.  Light from the Sun shines on the Moon, and that is what makes it look bright in the night sky.  Gray rocks, dust and craters cover the surface of the Moon.  The same side of the Moon always faces the Earth, so before astronauts travelled there, no one had ever seen the far side of the Moon.  In 1969, astronauts put an American flag on the Moon.  They left footprints, and brought Moon rocks back to Earth!