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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.
Geological studies of the Moon are based on a combination of Earth-based telescope observations, measurements from orbiting spacecraft, lunar samples, and geophysical data. . Six locations were sampled directly during the crewed Apollo program landings from 1969 to 1972, which returned 382 kilograms (842 lb) of lunar rock and lunar soil to Earth [8] In addition, three robotic Soviet Luna ...
The instantaneous Earth–Moon distance, or distance to the Moon, is the distance from the center of Earth to the center of the Moon. In contrast, the Lunar distance ( LD or Δ ⊕ L {\textstyle \Delta _{\oplus L}} ), or Earth–Moon characteristic distance , is a unit of measure in astronomy .
When combined with the Earth–Moon system's common orbit around the Sun, the period of the synodic month, from new moon to new moon, is 29.53 days. Viewed from the celestial north pole, the motion of Earth, the Moon, and their axial rotations are all counterclockwise. Viewed from a vantage point above the Sun and Earth's north poles, Earth ...
The Moon is spiraling away from Earth at a rate of 3.8 cm/year. [24] [42] This rate has been described as anomalously high. [43] The fluid core of the Moon was detected from the effects of core/mantle boundary dissipation. [44] The Moon has free physical librations that require one or more stimulating mechanisms. [45]
Earth will soon have a second moon, but it will be nothing like the one we're accustomed to seeing in the night sky. The new "mini-moon" will be asteroid 2024 PT5, a space rock discovered earlier ...
The energy required to melt the outer portion of the Moon is commonly attributed to a giant impact event that is postulated to have formed the Earth-Moon system, and the subsequent reaccretion of material in Earth orbit. Crystallization of this magma ocean would have given rise to a mafic mantle and a plagioclase-rich crust