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Lunar distance (LD or ), or Earth–Moon characteristic distance, is a unit of measure in astronomy. More technically, it is the semi-major axis of the geocentric lunar orbit . The lunar distance is on average approximately 385,000 km (239,000 mi), or 1.28 light-seconds ; this is roughly 30 times Earth's diameter or 9.5 times Earth's ...
Every 18.6 years, the angle between the Moon's orbit and Earth's equator reaches a maximum of 28°36′, the sum of Earth's equatorial tilt (23°27′) and the Moon's orbital inclination (5°09′) to the ecliptic. This is called major lunar standstill. Around this time, the Moon's declination will vary from −28°36′ to +28°36′.
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 (lunar day) at 29.5 Earth days, causing the same side of the Moon to always ...
For the orbit of the Moon around the Earth, see Orbit of the Moon. Orion capsule of Artemis 1 above the Moon in December 2022. In astronomy and spaceflight, a lunar orbit (also known as a selenocentric orbit) is an orbit by an object around Earth's Moon. In general these orbits are not circular.
Earth only has one Moon, ... Asteroid 2024 PT5 is about 10 meters across and is not expected to impact Earth but instead will orbit at a safe distance of about 1 million miles from the planet.
Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment from the Apollo 11 mission. Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) is the practice of measuring the distance between the surfaces of the Earth and the Moon using laser ranging. The distance can be calculated from the round-trip time of laser light pulses travelling at the speed of light, which are reflected back to Earth by ...
Dubbed the 2024 PT5, the 'mini-moon' will orbit Earth for nearly two months. It comes in a season of lunar phenomena.
The percentage columns show the distance from the orbit compared to the semimajor axis. E.g. for the Moon, L 1 is 326 400 km from Earth's center, which is 84.9% of the Earth–Moon distance or 15.1% "in front of" (Earthwards from) the Moon; L 2 is located 448 900 km from Earth's center, which is 116.8% of the Earth–Moon distance or 16.8% ...