Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The orbit of the relatively long-lived Apollo 15 subsatellite PFS-1 had an inclination of 28°, which turned out to be close to the inclination of one of the frozen orbits—but less fortunate PFS-2 had an orbital inclination of only 11°. [6] Elliptical inclined orbits. For lunar orbits with altitudes in the 500 to 20,000 km (310 to 12,430 mi ...
Tidal locking results in the Moon rotating about its axis in about the same time it takes to orbit Earth. Except for libration, this results in the Moon keeping the same face turned toward Earth, as seen in the left figure. If the Moon were not rotating at all, it would alternately show its near and far sides to Earth, while moving around Earth ...
Orbits around the L 1 point are used by spacecraft that want a constant view of the Sun, such as the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. Orbits around L 2 are used by missions that always want both Earth and the Sun behind them. This enables a single shield to block radiation from both Earth and the Sun, allowing passive cooling of sensitive ...
Most lunar low orbits below 100 km (60 mi) are unstable. [2]Lunar Module Eagle in lunar orbit during Apollo 11, July 1969. Gravitational anomalies slightly distorting the orbits of some Lunar Orbiters led to the discovery of mass concentrations (dubbed mascons) beneath the lunar surface caused by large impacting bodies at some remote time in the past.
From planetary meet-ups to the first total lunar eclipse in three years, here are the top astronomy events to look for throughout 2025: Stellar views of Mars will greet stargazers in January as ...
Europa / j ʊ ˈ r oʊ p ə / ⓘ, or Jupiter II, is the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter, and the sixth-closest to the planet of all the 95 known moons of Jupiter. It is also the sixth-largest moon in the Solar System.
Enceladus is the sixth-largest moon of Saturn and the 18th-largest in the Solar System. It is about 500 kilometers (310 miles) in diameter, [5] about a tenth of that of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. It is mostly covered by fresh, clean ice, making it one of the most reflective bodies of the Solar System.
It was only in 2001 that the mascons were mapped and the frozen orbits were discovered. [2] The Luna 10 orbiter was the first artificial object to orbit the Moon, and it returned tracking data indicating that the lunar gravitational field caused larger than expected perturbations, presumably due to "roughness" of the lunar gravitational field. [6]