Our closest celestial neighbour 368 000km distant (230 000 miles) – the moon. One of the most beautiful sights imaginable is to see a full moon rising over the African bush. Our moon is unique among solar system bodies in that it is large relative to it’s planet, the earth. As a result it exerts a significant gravitational pull on earth and has a major influence on tides and also helps to stabilize the oblique tilt of the earth which helps prevent climatic extremes.