Test your Moon smarts with these 5 questions

True or false: There is water on the Moon.

A. True

B. False

C. It’s complicated

A. True. Scientists recently discovered that the Moon holds thousands of penny-sized “cold traps,” permanently shadowed spots containing tiny patches of ice.

NASA plans to send humans to the Moon in 2024. What is the new lunar program called?

A. Persephone

B. Project Moon Landing

C. Endeavor

D. Artemis

D. Artemis. NASA’s new lunar program, Artemis, is named after Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology.

How do scientists think the Moon formed?

A. It’s the result of an impact by a Mars-sized object.

B. It’s an ancient, captured asteroid.

C. A volcano erupted on early Earth, spewing material that became the Moon.

A. The generally accepted theory is that a Mars-sized object slammed into early Earth, and the resulting detritus from that collision formed the Moon.

What phase must the Moon be in for a solar eclipse?

A. Half

B. New

C. Full

D. Gibbous

B. New. A New Moon occurs when the Moon is in between the Earth and the Sun — when the Earth, Moon, and Sun are perfectly aligned, you get a solar eclipse where the Moon blocks out the face of the Sun.

True or false: you can see the Moon during its New Moon phase

A. True

B. False

C. It’s complicated

B. False. During the New Moon, the Moon rises and sets with the Sun. That means that the Moon is technically out during the day, but the Sun outshines it. And there is no moon in the nighttime sky.