Is it true the moon rotates on its axis as the earth does?

Answer 1

The Moon is in synchronous rotation, meaning that it keeps nearly the same face turned toward Earth at all times. Early in the Moon's history, its rotation slowed and became locked in this configuration as a result of frictional effects associated with tidal deformations caused by the Earth. Nevertheless, small variations resulting from the eccentricity of the lunar orbit termed librations allow up to about 59% of the lunar surface to be visible from Earth.

Answer 2

http://home.insightbb.com/~lasweb/lessons/moonorbit.htm
The Moon's Orbit.
The Moon moves around the Earth in an elliptical orbit of small eccentricity, inclined by 5 deg 8' 43''.4 to the plane in which the Earth revolves around the Sun. Its distance from the Earth varies between 356,000 and 407,000 km (221,000 and 253,000 miles) in the course of each month; the average distance is 384,400 km (238,900 miles), less than 1% of the distance to Venus and Mars, even at the time of their closest approach. The lunar globe appears in the sky as a disc of a little over half a degree (31' 5''.2) in apparent diameter.

The period in which the Moon completes an orbit around the Earth and returns to the same position in the sky--the sidereal month--is 27 days, 7 h, 43 min, and 11.6 sec. Because the Earth is moving in its orbit around the Sun in the same direction as the Moon, the time needed to return to the same phase--the synodic month--is longer: 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 2.8 seconds. This period is the time interval that, for example, elapses between two successive full moons, a period that was known within a second even in ancient times. The Moon's average velocity is 1.023 km/sec (0.635 mi/sec), corresponding to a mean angular velocity in the sky of about 33 minutes of arc per hour, a little greater than the apparent diameter of the Moon.

If you want to see phases, longitudinal libration, latitudinal libration, perigee and apogee all in one film, just open this animation created by John Kielkopf at the University of Louisville. It runs slowly through the first lunation, and then rapidly so you can see the moon rock and roll. It is also available at the site: http://www.astro.louisville.edu/lunation.gif

Answer 3

Yes. It rotates every 28 days, the same as it's orbit around the earth.

Take an orange and hold it in front of you while a freind watches. Now turn your body all the way around in a circle. You always see the same side, but the friend sees the orange rotate thru 360 degrees.

Answer 4

No the same side of the moon always faces earth

Answer 5

No, the moon is fixed. Whenever you look up at the moon, you always see the same side.
I guess it's rotating from one perspective, but generally it's considered that it isn't.

Answer 6

The rotation period and the orbital period of the Moon are the same.
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/the_universe/uts/moon1.html&edu=high

Answer 7

Yep. It just does it slower.