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The Moon orbits Earth in the prograde direction and completes one revolution relative to the Vernal Equinox and the stars in about 27.32 days (a tropical month and sidereal month) and one revolution relative to the Sun in about 29.53 days (a synodic month). Earth and the Moon orbit about their barycentre (common centre of mass), which lies ...
[37] [2] These discoveries brought Saturn's total number of confirmed moons up to 145, making it the first planet known to have over 100 moons. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] [ 39 ] Yet another moon, S/2006 S 20 , was announced on 23 May 2023, bringing Saturn's total count moons to 146. [ 2 ]
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite.It orbits at an average distance of 384,400 km (238,900 mi), about 30 times the diameter of Earth. Tidal forces between Earth and the Moon have synchronized the Moon's orbital period (lunar month) with its rotation period at 29.5 Earth days, causing the same side of the Moon to always face Earth.
The moon takes about 30 days to orbit the Earth, which is called a lunar cycle. Each lunar cycle is divided into eight phases based on the moon's position relative to the sun.
The timeline of discovery of Solar System planets and their natural satellites charts the progress of the discovery of new bodies over history. Each object is listed in chronological order of its discovery (multiple dates occur when the moments of imaging, observation, and publication differ), identified through its various designations (including temporary and permanent schemes), and the ...
The approximate age of the Moon, and hence the approximate phase, can be calculated for any date by calculating the number of days since a known new moon (such as 1 January 1900 or 11 August 1999) and reducing this modulo 29.53059 days (the mean length of a synodic month).
An asteroid called 2020 CD3 was bound to Earth for several years before leaving the planet's orbit in 2020 and another called 2022 NX1 became a mini-moon of Earth in 1981 and 2022 and will return ...
The Moon orbiting around Earth (observed by the Deep Space Climate Observatory) A natural satellite is, in the most common usage, an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite). Natural satellites are colloquially referred to as moons, a derivation from the Moon of Earth.