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How long does it take the Moon to orbit Earth?
How often does the Moon orbit Earth?
How long does it take the Moon to go full circle?
How often does the Moon rotate?
The Moon orbits Earth in the prograde direction and completes one revolution relative to the Vernal Equinox and the stars in about 27.32 days (a tropical month and sidereal month) and one revolution relative to the Sun in about 29.53 days (a synodic month).
The Moon makes a complete orbit around Earth in 27 Earth days and rotates or spins at that same rate, or in that same amount of time. Because Earth is moving as well – rotating on its axis as it orbits the Sun – from our perspective, the Moon appears to orbit us every 29 days.
Dec 2, 2022 · Learn how the Moon rotates at the same rate as its orbital motion, creating the illusion of a fixed face. Watch an animation of the Moon's orbit and rotation, and download the video or image.
The Moon makes a complete orbit around Earth in 27 Earth days and rotates or spins at that same rate, or in that same amount of time. Because Earth is moving as well – rotating on its axis as it orbits the Sun – from our perspective, the Moon appears to orbit us every 29 days.
It takes a little more than two additional days for sunlight to hit the Moon in the same way it did on day zero. This is why it takes 29.5 days to get from new moon to new moon, even though it doesn’t take quite that long for the Moon itself to travel once around Earth.
Moon fact: The Moon’s phases repeat every 29.5 days, but it’s orbit around the Earth only takes 27. Why? In that time, as our Moon moves around Earth, the Earth also moves around the Sun. Our Moon must travel a little farther in its path to make up for the added distance and complete its phase cycle. Why does the Moon always look different?
The Moon revolves around Earth in an elliptical orbit with a mean eccentricity of 0.0549. Thus, the Moon's center-to-center distance from Earth varies with mean values of 363,396 km at perigee to 405,504 km at apogee. The lunar orbital period with respect to the stars (sidereal month) is 27.32166 days (27d 07h 43m 12s).
