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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 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 .
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 distance from the Moon to the apex of its umbra is roughly equal to that between the Moon and Earth: 384,402 km (238,856 mi). Since Earth's diameter is 3.7 times the Moon's, its umbra extends correspondingly farther: roughly 1.4 million km (870,000 mi). [1]
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 crater Webb, as seen from Lunar Orbiter 1.Several smaller craters can be seen in and around Webb. Side view of the crater Moltke taken from Apollo 10.. Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon.
Moon's internal structure Olivine basalt collected by Apollo 15. Thermal state of the Moon at age 100 Ma. [1]Having a mean density of 3,346.4 kg/m 3, [2] the Moon is a differentiated body, being composed of a geochemically distinct crust, mantle, and planetary core.
List of craters on the Moon: A–B; List of craters on the Moon: C–F; List of craters on the Moon: G–K; List of craters on the Moon: L–N; List of craters on the Moon: O–Q; List of craters on the Moon: R–S; List of craters on the Moon: T–Z