Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Variation of the distance between the centers of the Moon and the Earth over 700 days. Distribution of perigee and apogee between 3000 BC and AD 3000. Because of the influence of the Sun and other perturbations, the Moon's orbit around the Earth is not a precise ellipse. Nevertheless, different methods have been used to define a semi-major axis.
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 Sun's gravitational effect on the Moon is more than twice that of Earth's on the Moon; consequently, the Moon's trajectory is always convex [25] [26] (as seen when looking Sunward at the entire Sun–Earth–Moon system from a great distance outside Earth–Moon solar orbit), and is nowhere concave (from the same perspective) or looped.
Cislunar space could become strategically important with renewed interest in the moon, potentially opening up competition over resources and sparking conflicts. The space between Earth and the ...
Two important Lagrange points in the Sun-Earth system are L 1, between the Sun and Earth, and L 2, on the same line at the opposite side of the Earth; both are well outside the Moon's orbit. Currently, an artificial satellite called the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) is located at L 1 to study solar wind coming toward Earth from the ...
The new "mini-moon" will be asteroid 2024 PT5, a space rock discovered earlier this year. It will be temporarily captured by Earth's gravity before continuing its journey through the solar system.
In order to be considered a "mini-moon," an incoming object must reach Earth at a range around 2.8 million miles and at a steady space of about 2,200 mph, according to Marcos.
Translunar space is the region of lunar transfer orbits, between the Moon and Earth. [113] Cislunar space is a region outside of Earth that includes lunar orbits, the Moon's orbital space around Earth and the Lagrange points. [101]