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Most of the larger moons orbit their planets in prograde direction, matching the direction of planetary rotation; Neptune's moon Triton is the largest to orbit in the opposite, retrograde manner. [50] Most larger objects rotate around their own axes in the prograde direction relative to their orbit, though the rotation of Venus is retrograde. [51]
The Moon differs from most regular satellites of other planets in that its orbit is closer to the ecliptic plane instead of its primary's (in this case, Earth's) equatorial plane. The Moon's orbital plane is inclined by about 5.1° with respect to the ecliptic plane, whereas Earth's equatorial plane is tilted by about 23.4° with respect to the ...
The speed of the planet in the main orbit is constant. Despite being correct in saying that the planets revolved around the Sun, Copernicus was incorrect in defining their orbits. Introducing physical explanations for movement in space beyond just geometry, Kepler correctly defined the orbit of planets as follows: [1] [2] [5]: 53–54
The orange moon is in a retrograde orbit. If formed in the gravity field of a planet as the planet is forming, a moon will orbit the planet in the same direction as the planet is rotating and is a regular moon. If an object is formed elsewhere and later captured into orbit by a planet's gravity, it can be captured into either a retrograde or ...
Conversely, the closed trajectory is called a subharmonic orbit if k is the inverse of an integer, i.e., if m = 1 in the formula k = m/n. For example, if k = 1/3 (green planet in Figure 5, green orbit in Figure 10), the resulting orbit is called the third subharmonic of the original orbit. Although such orbits are unlikely to occur in nature ...
Geocentric orbit: An orbit around the planet Earth, such as that of the Moon or of artificial satellites. Selenocentric orbit (named after Selene): An orbit around Earth's Moon. Areocentric orbit (named after Ares): An orbit around the planet Mars, such as that of its moons or artificial satellites.
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.
See the Path of Earth and Moon around Sun section in the "Orbit of the Moon" article for a more detailed explanation. This definition of double planet depends on the pair's distance from the Sun. If the Earth–Moon system happened to orbit farther away from the Sun than it does now, then Earth would win the tug of war.