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[21] [22] By that time, Earth and the Moon would be in a mutual spin–orbit resonance or tidal locking, in which the Moon will orbit Earth in about 47 days (currently 27 days), and both the Moon and Earth would rotate around their axes in the same time, always facing each other with the same side. This has already happened to the Moon—the ...
If the Moon were not rotating at all, it would alternately show its near and far sides to Earth, while moving around Earth in orbit, as shown in the right figure. The Moon is shown in polar view, and is not drawn to scale. A side view of the Pluto–Charon system. Pluto and Charon are tidally locked to each other.
A synchronous orbit around Earth that is circular and lies in the equatorial plane is called a geostationary orbit. The more general case, when the orbit is inclined to Earth's equator or is non-circular is called a geosynchronous orbit. The corresponding terms for synchronous orbits around Mars are areostationary and areosynchronous orbits.
Due to tidal locking, the same hemisphere of the Moon always faces the Earth and thus the length of a lunar day (sunrise to sunrise on the Moon) equals the time that the Moon takes to complete one orbit around Earth, returning to the same lunar phase. While the Moon is orbiting Earth, Earth is progressing in its orbit around the Sun.
The Moon makes a complete orbit around Earth with respect to the fixed stars, its sidereal period, about once every 27.3 days. [h] However, because the Earth–Moon system moves at the same time in its orbit around the Sun, it takes slightly longer, 29.5 days, [i] [72] to return to the same lunar phase, completing a full cycle, as seen from Earth.
Called a "mini-moon" of sorts by some, it temporarily entered Earth's orbit on Sept. 29 from the Arjuna asteroid belt, which follows a similar orbital path around the sun as the Earth.
The near side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that always faces towards Earth, opposite to the far side. Only one side of the Moon is visible from Earth because the Moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that the Moon orbits the Earth—a situation known as tidal locking .
This asteroid's orbit keeps it near the Earth, but not orbiting it in the usual sense. When analyzing its orbit from the perspective of different bodies, the presumed quasi-satellite does seem to have a more stable location near the Earth The orbit of 2020 CD 3 around the Earth. The white band is the orbit of the Moon.