Look mom, the moon is following us!

Haniya Maimoona

As kids, we have all marveled over the Moon seemingly following us everywhere. Some of us may have even thought we were the chosen ones, chosen to save the world, or perform some other grand and heroic act.

Though it seemed improbable, we all hoped that it was fantasy, or that the Moon was made of cheese. Alas, none of these whimsical imaginations of ours are factual.

The Moon isn't a heavenly body with its own mind. It is just a rocky body that is made up of a combination of several metals such as iron, gold, silver, aluminium etc.

Now, the Moon appears to follow you because it is very far away (384,400 km) if we compare the distance between the Moon and Earth, the distance we travel is so negligible that it has no effect on the angle from which we observe the Moon.

But objects like trees and houses that you pass by are very close in comparison, and much smaller in size. So as you walk or drive along, things that are much closer to you appear to pass by.

People have observed the Moon since ancient times. The invention of the telescope in the 1600s allowed people to study the Moon more closely.

This resulted in the realisation that the Moon plays several crucial roles in the basic functioning of the Earth. The Moon is responsible for fun days at the beach, as its gravitational pull causes ocean tides.

For many animals, particularly birds, the Moon is essential for migration, navigation and reproduction. All humans and animals have biological clocks that tell them when to go to sleep and when to wake up.

The biological clocks are influenced by lunar cycles. Some nocturnal animals have enhanced visibility during the night, which is why they can effectively hunt, mate and avoid predators during the night.

While nocturnal animals prefer to stay awake during the night, some species find the presence of a full Moon unsettling and tend to avoid it.

All the above factors help us understand the indispensable role the Moon plays in the functioning of our planet.

And if scientists have gained so much knowledge just by observing the visible side of this celestial body, think how much more we will get to learn with information Chandrayaan-3 is going to provide us about the dark side of the Moon.