The moon

Question 1:http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/html/k-6/uc/earth/2/uce2_3a.html
The surface of the Moon is very different from the Earth’s surface. There is little or no tectonic movement on the Moon like on the Earth. The Moon’s surface has remained the same for billions of years. The Moon lacks water and an atmosphere. The weathering, erosion, and tectonic processes common to the Earth does not happen on the Moon.
The Moon has many surface features that we do not have on Earth. The following features can be identified on the Moon’s surface:
MARE or "SEAS" - These are relatively smooth, dark, and large areas that are filled with lava. The mare formed when the craters formed by large asteroid impacts were filled by lava. Most mare are more than 3 billion years in age. They can be easily seen on the Moon using a telescope from Earth
MOUNTAINS AND MOUNTAIN RANGES - The Moon’s mountains are large, rounded "bumps," which look much like old, eroded mountain ranges on Earth. The Moon’s mountains are even older than the mare, dating back as far as 4.4 billion years.
CRATERS - These roughly circular depression in the surface formed when meteoroids struck the Moon at high speeds. The Moon’s surface has hundreds of thousands of craters. The craters can be large (hundreds of kilometers) to as small as one meter.
RAYS - Rays are bright streaks of debris that radiate from some large craters. They may be as long as 3000 km.
RILLS - These are cracks in the surface of the Moon, probably produced by moving of the surface similar to faulting on the Earth.

or you can check this website:
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112188/moon_surface_features.htm
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Question 2: http://starryskies.com/The_sky/events/lunar-2003/eclipse9.html
Why do We See only One Side of the Moon?
Relative to the Earth, the Moon makes one rotation every 29.5 days. That happens to also be the time it takes for the Moon to complete one revolution around the Earth. This might seem like a coincidence, but it's not.
In the past, the Moon used to rotate much faster than it does now. But over millions of years, the effect of the Earth's gravity has slowed down the Moon's rotation until it became gravitationally locked to the Earth. This is why we always see the same side of the Moon.
It would seem logical to say that at any one time we can see 50% of the Moon's face. If the Moon were flat, that would be correct, however we know the Moon is a sphere. And the spherical shape of the Moon hides the area close to the perimeter and we can, at any one time, see only 41% of the Moon's face.
Even though the same side of the Moon's faces us, we do see a bit more than half of the Moon's face. Over time, because of librations, we can see up to 59% of the Moon's surface.
Librations are irregular motions of the Moon in its elliptical orbit around the Earth. They are measured using longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates. Both are computed from a central point that is at a fixed geographical location on the lunar surface. This point is in the Sinus Medii, a small plain just below and to the right of he large rayed crater Copernicus. Two meridians emanate from this point: the Central Meridian runs north and south, and the Lunar Equator runs east and west.
Different librations affect different sides of the Moon and each contribute added surface area. The added viewable surface area changes from day to day and month to month. Some librations overlap, but the maximum amount of lunar surface that we can see over time is 59%.
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Since i can only attached 4000 words, there's still some more information,
you'd better access the website directly :http://www.msnucleus.org/membership/html/k-6/uc/earth/2/uce2_3a.html
or you can check this website
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/moon/Moononeside.shtml

Hope it can help!

Here is a simple easy to read and comprehend version (good for kids).

Our moon is a natural satellite.

From the moon, Earth looks four times bigger than a full Moon. If you looked in the right places on the moon, you would find pieces of equipment, American flags and even a camera left behind by astronauts.

The moon is covered with craters. Because it has no atmosphere to protect it, space rocks - some as big as mountains - have smashed into it. Tycho Crater is more than 52 miles (85 km) wide! The moon's surface is rocky and covered with dust. It looks a lot like Mercury.

The moon weak gravity means it is easy to move around, even in a heavy spacesuit. It is impossible for people to explore the Moon without a spacesuit. There is no air. And radiation from the Sun is very dangerous.

It gets very hot and very cold on the moon. When the Sun is shining, the moon sizzles at 265*F (130*C). It can drop down to 170*F (110*C) below zero.

12 astronauts have walked on the moon and marked their footprints there. 4 mirrors were left on the moon by Apollo astronauts.

Last but not least, the Moon has influence to the habitant on Earth - the ocean tides and the natural light at night time.

The moon gravitational pull on the Earth causes the rise and fall of ocean tides.
The moon provides us (and animals in the wild) light at night time by reflecting the light from the Sun.


NASA Education Pack (http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/58199main_Exploring.The.Moon.pdf)

Detail Fact Sheet (http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Moon&Display=Facts)


Answer to Question 2

The rotation of the moon—the time it takes to spin once around on its own axis—takes the same amount of time as the moon takes to complete one orbit of the Earth, about 27.3 days. This means the moon rotation is synchronized in a way that causes the moon to show the same face to the Earth at all times. One hemisphere always faces us, while the other always faces away. The lunar far side (aka the dark side) has been photographed only from spacecraft.

2007-06-01 17:43:37 補充：
not bad BUT just purely copying from website