Is it really made of cheese?

Many moons ago: 10 lunar facts you might not know

Image: Sanni Sahil

Humanity has always had the Moon as a companion, using it to track time and the seasons and even believing it capable of affecting people’s behavior. As Earth’s only natural satellite, the Moon has a significant influence on our planet, from causing tides to keeping the globe from tilting even more. Let’s learn more about her!

Image: Nicolas Thomas

No one is certain about how the Moon came to be, but scientists have some educated guesses. The most widely accepted hypothesis is that the Moon is a by-product of a collision between a very young planet Earth and another celestial body the size of Mars. This collision not only left Earth permanently tilted, but it also blasted large amounts of material into space. The Moon is thought to have formed from this debris and, in consequence, is related to Earth.

Image: Dennys Hess

Similar to Earth, the Moon also experiences ‘earthquakes’ or, in this case, moonquakes. But, unlike Earth, the Moon lacks tectonic plates. Instead, its seismic activity is caused by meteorite impacts, the gravitational pull of the Earth and the Sun, and shrinkage due to heating and cooling. These quakes are nowhere near as strong as an earthquake, but they are significant enough to pose challenges for the construction of permanent lunar bases.

Image: v2osk

One side of the Moon is always obscured, but this doesn’t mean it is perpetually dark. Each face of the moon experiences about two weeks of sunlight at a time, while the other side experiences night. However, one of its sides is constantly facing away from the Earth, which means there is a side that we don’t see. It has been called ‘the far side’ and ‘the dark side’, not because it lacks light, but because it is unknown.

Image: Bernd 📷 Dittrich

We always see the same face of the Moon from Earth, but its appearance changes depending on our location. It’s largely a matter of perspective: from the Northern hemisphere, the Moon is perceived "upright", while in the Southern hemisphere it appears effectively "upside down." A waxing crescent moon looks like a "D" in the North, but like a "C" in the South, with the light on the left. This explains why Northern hemisphere cultures have traditionally seen a man or rabbit in the Moon, while Southern hemisphere cultures haven’t. The markings on the Moon are the same, but they are perceived differently.

Image: NASA

American astronauts and Soviet spacecraft landers have left several flags and banners on the Moon, but they are merely symbolic. According to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, outer space and its celestial bodies—the Moon included—belong to mankind as a whole, and can’t be legally claimed by a single nation or owned as private property. The same treaty states that the Moon can only be used for peaceful purposes, prohibiting military installations and nuclear weapons. In recent years, however, the U.S. and other countries have challenged the Outer Space Treaty.

Image: Jenin Abumazen

The Moon has its own gravity, weaker than Earth’s because of the size difference, yet it still exerts a significant influence on our planet. The Moon’s gravitational pull helps stabilize Earth’s axial tilt, preventing it from shifting constantly. This pull is the reason tides exist: water is a fluid, so it moves much more easily than land when pulled by the Moon’s gravitational force, creating the familiar rise and fall of the oceans.

Image: NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Did you know that only twelve people have ever walked on the Moon? Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first to do so, on July 20, 1969, and the last was Gene Cernan on December 14, 1972. All twelve moonwalkers were American astronauts from NASA’s Apollo program. In total, six Apollo missions successfully landed astronauts on the Moon.

Image: Victor Kallenbach

Unlike solar eclipses, the Moon is not completely darkened during a lunar eclipse. It is illuminated by the refraction of sunlight on Earth. As the light passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, it scatters, causing the light and the Moon to be perceived as reddish or as a ‘Blood Moon.’

Image: Benjamin Voros

Solar calendars are widely used today, but this wasn’t always the case. The lunar cycle and the phases of the Moon have been used to track time for thousands of years, and they are the origin of the idea of months and weeks. Although most of the world now officially uses the Gregorian solar calendar, the continued importance of lunar calendars can be seen in observances such as the Lunar New Year in many Asian cultures, the calculation of Easter in Christianity, Ramadan in the Islamic world, and festivals such as Holi and Diwali in Hindu traditions.

Image: Luca

Werewolves, witches, lunatics. What does the Moon have to do with them? Cultures all around the world have, at some point, believed that the Moon had a powerful influence on human behavior, much as it does on Earth itself. Full moons in particular were thought to cause sleep deprivation and worsen mental conditions. Individuals who were ‘moonstruck’ were dubbed ‘lunatics,’ after luna, the Latin word for the Moon.

Some names stick around

From Table Tap Joe to Ziggy Stardust: Who are the best song characters?

Sometimes, a character is the perfect alter-ego to write a song about oneself without self-referencing so much. Other times, a character is just a character. Over the years, musicians have come up with lonely dreamers, fearless heroes, mysterious strangers, and even supernatural villains who have become just as famous as the songs themselves. Some were inspired by real people, others sprang entirely from imagination, but all of them left a lasting mark on music history. Which of these 12 do you remember?

Tom Waits has always had a soft spot for society's oddballs, and few are even stranger than Table Top Joe. Introduced on the 2002 album Alice, Joe is born with only a head and hands, yet grows into a brilliant piano player whose extraordinary talent earns him fame despite the odds stacked against him.

The song unfolds like a forgotten American folk tale, complete with references to Coney Island's legendary Dreamland amusement park and composer Igor Stravinsky. Although many listeners assume the story is based on an old carnival legend, Table Top Joe is entirely Tom Waits' own creation.

Few fictional musicians have ever become as famous as Ziggy Stardust. Introduced in 1972, Ziggy is an alien rock star sent to Earth shortly before humanity's end, only to be consumed by the very fame that makes him a savior to millions.

David Bowie blurred the line between fiction and reality by performing as Ziggy onstage for more than a year. When he unexpectedly announced Ziggy's retirement during a concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1973, many fans believed the character, and perhaps Bowie himself, had truly reached the end of the story.

Tommy Walker isn't just the hero of a song, he's the central figure of one of rock music's first great operas. After witnessing a traumatic event as a child, Tommy becomes deaf, mute, and blind, yet somehow develops astonishing pinball skills that transform him into an unlikely celebrity.

Pete Townshend built an entire musical world around Tommy, exploring themes of trauma, faith, and redemption. First released in 1969, Tommy later became a hit film, a Broadway production, and one of the most influential concept albums ever recorded.

Johnny B. Goode is every aspiring musician's dream. Growing up in rural Louisiana with little more than a guitar and natural talent, he plays so brilliantly that listeners predict "his name will be in lights."

Chuck Berry based the character partly on himself and partly on pianist Johnnie Johnson. Originally described as a "colored boy," Johnny became a "country boy" in the final lyrics, making the song more likely to receive airplay during the segregation era. Nearly two decades later, Johnny's anthem would even travel into space aboard NASA's Voyager Golden Record.

Few fictional characters have captured loneliness as powerfully as Eleanor Rigby. She quietly moves through life unnoticed, while Father McKenzie delivers sermons that no one hears, creating one of popular music's saddest portraits of isolation.

Paul McCartney later explained that Eleanor's name came from actress Eleanor Bron and the Liverpool shop Rigby & Evens. The discovery of an actual Eleanor Rigby gravestone in Liverpool only deepened the song's mystique, though McCartney maintained the coincidence was unintentional.

Billie Jean may be one of pop music's most famous women, yet Michael Jackson insisted she wasn't a real person. Instead, she represented several women who falsely claimed that he had fathered their children during the height of the Jackson 5's fame.

Released in 1983 as part of Thriller, the song became a global phenomenon. It also provided the stage for Jackson's legendary moonwalk during Motown 25.

Unlike many legendary song characters, Stagger Lee actually existed. His real name was Lee Shelton, a St. Louis criminal who murdered Billy Lyons during an argument over a hat on Christmas Eve in 1895.

The shocking crime quickly entered American folklore through countless folk songs before Lloyd Price transformed it into a chart-topping hit in 1958. More than a century later, Stagger Lee remains one of the most enduring antiheroes in American music.

Tom Dooley was inspired by Thomas Dula, a Confederate veteran executed in North Carolina in 1868 after being convicted of murdering Laura Foster. His surname was locally pronounced "Dooley," giving the ballad its familiar title.

The Kingston Trio revived the old Appalachian folk song in 1958, turning it into an international hit and helping launch America's folk music revival.

When the narrator of "Lola" meets an intriguing stranger in a Soho nightclub, expectations quickly give way to surprise. Ray Davies crafted one of rock's earliest mainstream stories exploring gender ambiguity, decades before the topic entered popular conversation.

The recording rarely reached British radio. Because BBC rules prohibited commercial product names, Davies had to interrupt a U.S. tour and fly back to London simply to replace the lyric "Coca-Cola" with the now-famous "cherry cola."

Unlike most famous song characters, the Piano Man is really Billy Joel himself. Before becoming a superstar, Joel spent six months in 1972 and 1973 performing under the pseudonym Bill Martin at the Executive Room, a piano bar in Los Angeles, after becoming trapped in a bad recording contract. The song transforms those experiences into a bittersweet portrait of ordinary people searching for escape at the end of another week.

Joel has said that virtually every character in the song was based on a real person, from bartender John to "Paul, the real estate novelist" and Davy, who really was in the Navy. Yet the Piano Man himself became the story's most enduring character: a quiet observer who offers music as a brief refuge for dreamers, lonely souls, and regulars alike. More than fifty years after its 1973 release, "Piano Man" remains Billy Joel's signature song, and its title has effectively become his lifelong nickname.

Standing nearly seven feet tall and missing an arm, Amos Moses roams the Louisiana swamps hunting alligators. Jerry Reed filled the song with colorful Southern expressions and exaggerated storytelling that make Amos feel like an authentic folk legend.

Although fictional, Amos embodies the larger-than-life heroes found throughout American tall tales. His adventures turned the song into one of Reed's biggest crossover hits and secured Amos a permanent place among country music's greatest characters.

Big Bad John hardly says a word, but he doesn't have to. The towering coal miner earns everyone's respect through quiet strength before sacrificing his own life to save fellow workers when a mine collapses.

Jimmy Dean's 1961 ballad became a smash hit, winning a Grammy and inspiring several sequel songs. More than sixty years later, Big Bad John still stands as one of country music's defining working-class heroes.