When the Moon Hits Your Eye

A children’s educational magazine explains the moon’s origin and composition. Scientists believe that the moon formed when a planet collided with Earth, ejecting debris that eventually coalesced. Made of basalt and anorthosite, the moon spans 2,200 miles and has no rotation, though it displays visible phases. It controls Earth’s tides and has inspired myths—like the idea that it is made of cheese. The moon’s gravity is one sixth of Earth’s, and most planets in the solar system have moons. Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon in 1969. The moon sits about 240,000 miles from Earth, and it creates an eclipse when it blocks the sun.

Virgil Augustine, director of the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio, receives a call from facilities director Bud Roldan just before a planned date with his wife, Emily. Bud insists that Virgil visit the “Moon Room,” where he and curator Willa King are examining a central exhibit: a moon rock collected by Neil Armstrong. Virgil inspects the rock, which should be pyroxene and plagioclase, but he notices that it looks off-white and slightly larger than normal. He suspects that it is modeling clay.