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The whole surface area of the Moon is about 38 million square kilometers, comparable to that of the Americas. [70] [71] The Moon's mass is 1 ⁄ 81 of Earth's, [72] being the second densest among the planetary moons, and having the second highest surface gravity, after Io, at 0.1654 g and an escape velocity of 2.38 km/s (8 600 km/h; 5 300 mph).
The term waxing is used for an intermediate phase when the Moon's apparent shape is thickening, from new to a full moon; and waning when the shape is thinning. The duration from full moon to new moon (or new moon to full moon) varies from approximately 13 days 22 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours to about 15 days 14 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours.
Kepler's first law placing the Sun at one of the foci of an elliptical orbit Heliocentric coordinate system (r, θ) for ellipse. Also shown are: semi-major axis a , semi-minor axis b and semi-latus rectum p ; center of ellipse and its two foci marked by large dots.
Ben Bussey and Paul Spudis, The Clementine Atlas of the Moon, Cambridge University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-521-81528-2. Antonín Rükl, Atlas of the Moon, Kalmbach Books, 1990, ISBN 0-913135-17-8. Ewen A. Whitaker, Mapping and Naming the Moon, Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-521-62248-4.
The Moon's elongation is its angular distance east of the Sun at any time. At new moon, it is zero and the Moon is said to be in conjunction. At full moon, the elongation is 180° and it is said to be in opposition. In both cases, the Moon is in syzygy, that is, the Sun, Moon and Earth are nearly aligned.
Two Grand Canyon-size features on the far side of the moon were likely formed in about 10 minutes after an unknown object slammed into the moon 3.8 billion years ago.
If Japan’s “Moon Sniper” is able to restore power, it could collect unprecedented information from surface craters in a lunar region south of where Apollo 11 landed.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Moon: . Moon – Earth's only permanent natural satellite.It is one of the largest natural satellites in the Solar System, and the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits (its primary).