The moon

The Moon and men

Beliefs and mythologies

The variations of colors and luminosities on the surface of the Moon form reasons which the men differently interpreted according to their culture and their imaginary: rabbit, Buffalo, or face of man inter alia. The ancient astronomers thought that the dark and regular zones (plains) were filled with water. They called them Maria (Latin term meaning sea), while the high plateaus, of clear color, were baptized Terrae . These denominations still have course today, even if it is known that they are not attached to any reality.

The Moon is also a figure very present in many mythologies and folk beliefs, and was often associated with female divinities. Thus, the Greek goddess Séléné (Luna among Romans) was associated with the Moon, before being supplanted by Artémis (Diane among Romans). On the other hand, the Japanese goddess Amaterasu is associated with the Sun and his/her brother, Tsukuyomi, are him associated with the Moon. In the same way at Mésopotamiens, where the god Nanna (or Sîn) is associated with the Moon. This inversion is also present in Scandinavian mythologies (Scandinavian, Latvian…), and this is why Tolkien included it in its mythology of the Ground of the medium, making to Tilion the god of the Moon and Arien the goddess of the Sun.

Empirical knowledge of the men on the Agriculture always attached a great importance to the Moon, in the various phases of development of the plants or to determine the moments favourable with the sowing.

The " term; lunatique" is derived from Luna because of the belief in the Moon as causes menstrual cycle of the woman or periodic madness. In the same way for the legends concerning the lycanthropes (the such werewolf and the tiger-garou), creatures mythical which would draw their force from the Moon and would be able to pass from their human form to their bestial form during the Nuit S of full moon.

Certain authors pointed out that if the Moon had not constantly presented the same one vis-a-vis the Earth, the history of the thought had been different. Indeed, seeing it turning, it became obvious to see there a sphere and not a disc. A generalization of this observation to other celestial objects and in particular to the representation of the Earth could have accelerated considerably the adoption of design of the geocentric universes not .

The Moon often made dream, in particular at in love ones which often regards the romantic moonlight as very . A French popular song is called With the moonlight .

But the Moon is also very present in the films of horror, such as Frankenstein and Freddy Krueger .

The imaginary one in addition equipped the Moon with inhabitants, the Sélénites .

Symbolic system of the Moon

One of the appearances of the new moon marks for the Moslem the beginning of the month of fast called Ramadan. When the Moon is in direction of the Sun, it is observable with much difficulty of the ground because the Sun clarifies the atmosphere and the face only the Moon present at the ground does not illuminate: the Moon is visible only with laying down Sun when the observer is not dazzled any more by the clearness of the sky. It is this appearance which the Moslems supervise to decide of the beginning of the Ramadan.
the Genèse indicates the Moon at the time of the creation of the name of small luminary . Its creation, like that of the Sun, is posterior with that of the Lumière.
the Moon, passivates, is constantly opposed to the sun, credit. They represent, inter alia, the element female and the male element. It should be noted however that in German one says “the” sun ( die Sonne ) and “the” moon ( der Mond ).
One can also compare it with Jean the Baptist whose prolog of the Gospel of Jean says that it is not the Light but that it returns testimony to him.
the Moon is the eighteenth chart of the Tarot of Marseilles.
the Moon is reproduced on many blazons and some Drapeau X: Laos, Mongolia, Palaos, Flag Saami, Shan (Burma)
the Moon is also reproduced on flags and blazons in the form of growing where it evokes the Ottoman Empire. The crescent is reproduced on several flags of Moslem countries throughout the world in various forms of which the Turkey, the Tunisia, the Algérie, the Mauritania, the Azerbaïdjan, the Ouzbékistan, the Pakistan, the Turkish republic of Cyprus of North.
the Moon plays a big role in the lunar Calendrier S and thus in the concept of Semaine which, it, does not have lunar significance. The lunar month division in four weeks existed in the judaïque calendar and was set up by the Roman Emperor Constantin I {{er}}. Previously the Romans used Décade S to cut out their months in three decades. The changes of Calendrier S come from the difficulty in reconciling the periodicity of the Moon “luminary of the night” at the periodicity of the sun from the rotation of the ground on itself and around the sun.
In the table Unicode, two symbols represent the Moon: the first district “☽” and the last district “☾”.

Exploration

Program Luna

The first object manufactured by the man with to reach the Moon was the Soviet probe Luna 2 , which was crushed there the September 14th 1959 with 21:02: 24 Z. the hidden side of the Moon was photographed for the first time the October 7th 1959 when the automatic probe Luna 3 , also launched by the Soviet Union, passed behind the Moon. Luna 9 was the first probe to be posed on the Moon (rather than to be crushed there); it turned over photographs of lunar surface the February 3rd 1966. The first Artificial satellite of the Moon was the Soviet probe Luna 10 , launched the March 31st 1966. The November 17th 1970, Lunokhod 1 was the first vehicle robotized to explore its surface.

Program Apollo

Other programs

At the end of the years 1990, the probes Clementine and Lunar Prospector found water on the Moon.

The European probe Smart-1 fit in orbit around the Moon successfully the November 16th 2004, it must find water and make it possible to better determine the origin of our satellite (by calculation of the iron rate), grace an analysis extended by x-rays.

Projects considered

China decided to also launch out in lunar exploration and wants to send probes orbits before 2009 of it, with its Programme Chang' E, one of the goals being the discovery of great quantity of a rare Isotope of the Hélium, the helium-3, which could have applications in the energy production. The Japan planned two orbital missions LUNAR-A and Selene and works with a lunar basic project. The India has also a lunar project of satellite, named Chandrayan, which should be launched towards 2007.

NASA envisages the return of astronauts on our satellite to the horizon 2015/2020 (if the budget follows, which is considered to him at 104 billion dollars over 13 years) with the program Constellation. The colonization would begin about 2030.

Legal statute of the Moon

Although several American flags was planted symbolically on the lunar ground, those never had claim on a portion of surface of the Moon. The Moon is considered, thanks to the Traité space come into effect the October 10th 1967, like an international space as well as the water of the same name. The treaty excludes moreover any military use of space, in particular the deployment of weapons of massive destruction.

The lunar treaty of 1979 not having been ratified by the great nations of space exploration, the appropriation with aims economic and commercial by the private ones remains in the legal blur, which involves sometimes claims of most whimsical.

For more information on the legal statute of the Moon and space in general to see the article Right of space.

Artistic works on the Moon

Literature

comic History of the States and Empires of the Moon of Cyrano of Bergerac (1650)
Talks on the plurality of the worlds of Fontenelle (1686)
Of the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon of Jules Verne (1865, 1870)
The first men in the moon (first men in the moon) of H.G. Wells (1895)
The Moon has harsh mistress (Révolte on the Moon), and The man who sold the moon (the Man which sold the Moon), of Robert Heinlein.

Poetry

Ballade with the moon , Alfred de Musset,
Moonlight , in Eastern the, of Victor Hugo:
the Imitation of Notre-Dame the Moon, poetries of Jules Laforgue (1886):
Canciones of luna, Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936)
Lovesong of the luna, luna , in the Romancero gitano of Federico García Lorca * Hijo of the luna of mechanic

Others

the Voyage in the Moon of Jacques Offenbach (1875)
the Voyage in the Moon of Georges Méliès (1902)
Objective the Moon and One went on the Moon of Hergé (1953, 1954)
Retour to “0” of Stefan Wul (1956)
2001, the odyssey of space by Stanley Kubrick (1968)
Operation the Moon False documentary by William Karel (2002)

Classical music

Moonlight - Claude Debussy
Sonata with the Moonlight - Ludwig van Beethoven

Songs

Quotations

“the moon is the first of died” (the " Der Mond STI DER erste Gestorbene") Eduard Seler

Appendices

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