I've attached a article that I've written about the moon the was based on the show "If We Had No Moon". I know that it was in the Media Menu and some Whyvillians probably watched it but I went to Media Hour and only one person said that they had watched it. I think that the show was really interesting and since I had to write a report on a science TV show anyway for science, I wrote an article about it for the Times. It's attached to this letter and I hope that you'll accept it. Sincerely, Aruby

Moon Gazing

Without the moon, our days would be 4 hours long, the wind would blow at hurricane strength, and you wouldn't exist because there would be no life on Earth. This is Aruby, here to tell you about our moon. I don't know how many people actually watched the show "If We Had No Moon", that was listed in the Media Menu, but for those of you who didn't, here's a little of the moon and what it does for the Earth.

How was the moon formed? From what I understand, scientists now believe that the moon was created through an impact to the earth. Billions of years ago, they say there was another planet in the solar system called Orvenus that orbited between Earth and Mars. For some reason, the planet orbited too close to Earth. The two collided and Orvenus was destroyed. All the debris was caught in orbit around the Earth. Over time, the moon was formed.

Back then, the moon was 15 times closer to Earth. Every year the moon moves away 1 and one-half inch. Today, the moon is still close enough to allow total eclipses to occur, but in the future, this will not happen. Without the moon, the Earth's axis will tilt to different degrees, causing dramatic continuous climate changes, as the Earth is exposed to different amounts of sunlight. Even with the moon, the Earth sometimes wobbles a tiny bit. The moon will stabilize the Earth less and less as it moves away. At one point, we may lose the moon completely.

So, when you're staring at the stars, glance at the moon and be glad that it's there. It's the reason that you're on Earth.

Feel free to y-mail me with any questions. I love getting mail!