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Although the Moon is Earth's only natural satellite, there are a number of near-Earth objects (NEOs) with orbits that are in resonance with Earth. These have been called "second" moons of Earth or "minimoons". [2] [3] 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, an asteroid discovered on 27 April 2016, is possibly the most stable quasi-satellite of Earth. [4]
A lunisolar calendar was found at Warren Field in Scotland and has been dated to c. 8000 BC, during the Mesolithic period. [2] [3] Some scholars argue for lunar calendars still earlier—Rappenglück in the marks on a c. 17,000 year-old cave painting at Lascaux and Marshack in the marks on a c. 27,000 year-old bone baton—but their findings remain controversial.
To support an Earth-like atmosphere for about 4.6 billion years (Earth's current age), a moon with a Mars-like density is estimated to need at least 7% of Earth's mass. [20] One way to decrease loss from sputtering is for the moon to have a strong magnetic field of its own that can deflect stellar wind and radiation belts.
Why full moons in the night sky are worth viewing, how they got their names and other interesting lunar facts. Your guide to full moons for 2024: Supermoons, solstices, equinoxes and more Skip to ...
The 12 full moons each year are named by Native Americans, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. UNC Asheville Associate Professor of Astronomy Britt Lundren told the Times-News Jan. 5 that full ...
Some moons, minor planets and comets of the Solar System to scale (major planets not to scale) Selected moons, with Earth to scale. Nineteen moons are large enough to be round, and two, Titan and Triton, have substantial atmospheres The number of moons discovered in each year until November 2019. Mercury, the smallest and innermost planet, has ...
The supermoon of 14 November 2016 was 356,511 km (221,526 mi) away [1] from the center of Earth. Supermoons occur 3–4 times per year. [2] As the Earth revolves around the Sun, approximate axial parallelism of the Moon's orbital plane (tilted five degrees to the Earth's orbital plane) results in the revolution of the lunar nodes relative to the Earth.
An eclipse of the Moon or Sun can occur when the nodes align with the Sun, roughly every 173.3 days. Lunar orbit inclination also determines eclipses; shadows cross when nodes coincide with full and new moon when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align in three dimensions. In effect, this means that the "tropical year" on the Moon is only 347 days long.