How many hours does it take the moon to revolve around the earth? By observation I would guess it's a little less than 20 hours, but I don't know the exact number. Just curious.
2007-01-05 06:21:02 · 4 answers · asked by Laguna Tim 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The average is 27.322 days for the moon to orbit the earth, it is not constant, but will change over time.
What you are seeing when you thought it was less then 20 hours, is the earths rotation. Because the earth is rotating with respect to the moon, it looks like the moon is moving. In reality, you are the one that is moving, but cannot tell from your vantage point.
The earth completes one rotation every 23 hr 56 min 4.1 sec
2007-01-05 06:44:58 · answer #1 · answered by srrl_ferroequinologist 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The orbit of the moon is only relative. If the earth was stationary and we were to observe it from a top view the orbit would appear as a circle. It would it would take aprox 27.5 days to complete one oscillation.
However since the earth is not stationary around the sun the moon does not excatly orbit the earth. The motion of the moon relative to the sun as viewed from a star would appear as a cycloid path which would cross the ecliptic twice per oscillations.
for this reason there are aprox 13 months in a year. Where a month is one oscilation of the moon.
2007-01-05 06:44:45 · answer #2 · answered by goring 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The moon circles the earth once a month. It appears to go around the earth each day as the earth spins.
2007-01-05 06:35:59 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
27.3 days to revolve around earth
2007-01-05 06:36:56 · answer #4 · answered by izaboe 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋