The Science of the Moon
Like Duolingo, but for The Science of the Moon. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
71 levels across 9 sections, about 142 minutes end to end, roughly 28 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Observing the Surface in Detail, Impact Geology and Chronology, Volcanism and Thermal History, Orbital Mechanics and Gravitational Anomalies, The Regolith and Space Environment, The Polar Regions and Volatiles, Internal Structure and Geophysics, Origin and Differentiation, and Modern Exploration and Planetary Potential. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in The Science of the Moon
- Low grazing sunlight along the terminator casts long shadows that exaggerate subtle slopes
- Direct overhead sunlight washes out elevation relief and highlights only surface brightness differences
- Shadow tip length across the crater floor scales directly with the Sun's local altitude angle
- The Sun's local elevation above the lunar horizon provides the reference angle for right-triangle math
- Multiplying shadow length by the tangent of the solar angle yields the vertical feature height
- Optical irradiation causes bright high-albedo terrain to visually spill into darker neighboring regions
- Highland-mare boundaries appear falsely displaced toward the darker basalt plains in optical telescopes
- Sunlight bounced from Earth's atmosphere and clouds softly lights the Moon's nighttime hemisphere
- Earthshine reveals broad albedo differences like dark maria and bright ray craters without casting sharp shadows
- Features situated near the center of the lunar disk suffer almost zero geometric distortion
- Radial foreshortening compresses circular features into thin ellipses as they approach the lunar limb
- The direction of apparent compression points directly toward the center of the lunar disk
- Highland crust is rich in plagioclase feldspar which reflects sunlight efficiently.
- Mare plains are covered in basalt rich in iron and titanium that absorbs incoming light.
- Contrasting rock compositions create the distinct bright and dark patches seen from Earth.
- Fresh impacts expose bright, crystalline sub-surface material with minimal space weathering.
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Science of the Moon the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What happens when the Sun shines straight down overhead on the lunar surface?
Get it right to open this lesson and 70 more in the app.
Where The Science of the Moon takes you
Decode the geological history, orbital dynamics, and surface processes of Earth's natural satellite. Master crater mechanics, volatile transport, and the geochemical tools used to reconstruct the Moon's dramatic evolution.
- 1
Observing the Surface in Detail
- Reading Features Along the Terminator
- Mapping Topography and Albedo Contrasts
- 2
Impact Geology and Chronology
- The Physics of Impact Cratering
- Dating the Lunar Surface
- 3
Volcanism and Thermal History
- Mare Basalts and Effusive Eruptions
- Explosive Venting and Non-Basaltic Magmas
- 4
Orbital Mechanics and Gravitational Anomalies
- Tidal Locking and Resonances
- Mascons and Orbit Perturbations
- 5
The Regolith and Space Environment
- Regolith Dynamics and Soil Evolution
- The Lunar Exosphere and Surface Plasma
- 6
The Polar Regions and Volatiles
- Permanently Shadowed Regions and Cold Traps
- Volatile Migration and Storage Mechanisms
- 7
Internal Structure and Geophysics
- Moonquakes and Internal Seismic Structure
- Crustal Asymmetry and Core Dynamics
- 8
Origin and Differentiation
- The Giant Impact Hypothesis
- The Magma Ocean and Mantle Overturn
- 9
Modern Exploration and Planetary Potential
- Remote Geochemistry and Sample Analysis
- In-Situ Resources and Science Infrastructure
9 sections · 18 units · 71 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
The Science of the Moon is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start The Science of the Moon today.
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