by Victoria Jeffrey

Created on: April 26, 2009

Our beautiful moon is the brightest heavenly body in our night sky. This milky orb has long been a thing of lore, shrouded in shadows and legends.With its mysterious phases and the effects its movements have on the Earth it has fueled many myths and lore the world over. It has also been believed for thousands of years the world over that the moon has mysterious and uncanny power over human affairs and behavior. It was and still is associated with goddesses, fertility, menstruation and the female sex because it's monthly phases are so closely related to a woman's menstrual cycle. Although it is the celestial body closest to us, we still don't know all there is to know about the moon. Does the moon really have an affect on us? Why don't we ever see the dark side of the moon? What are the strange things that have given rise to its mysteries?

The moon was active with violent volcanic activity billions of years ago. Some of those effects can still be seen today such as certain light patches and dark areas on its surface. The light areas on the moon are called highlands. The dark areas are lava beds called "maria". Maria is Latin for sea and these seas once flowed with lava, but now something else may have resulted from this ancient activity. Many astronomers have reported seeing glowing or flashing lights from certain parts of the moon's surface. These have been sighted on lunar soil, craters and peaks. These luminescent flashes of light are often seen near the dark side of the moon. For ages people have reported these lights. Sightings go back as early as 557 A.D. Some people have attributed this to supernatural or extra-terrestrial phenomena. Scientists call this phenomenon LTP - Lunar Transient Phenomenon. LTP can last from a few seconds to a few hours and there are many explanations as to where they come from. Some think that they may be caused by fireballs; meteorites hitting the surface. Some scientists think that the fluctuations in the Earth's atmosphere make it appear that there is a light phenomenon on the moon when watching from the Earth. Other scientists think that the moon may still be experiencing some type of underground volcanic activity, but none of these ideas seem possible under close scrutiny, nor have they been observed. This is especially so since these lights have been observed by astronauts in orbit around the moon. They saw no meteor shower activity in connection with this phenomena, nor saw any evidence of underground volcanic activity.

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