The moon does has its own orbit around this planet, believe it or not. The moon does have its own gravitational pull strong enough so it won't go crashing into the Earth , yet not that strong to break out of Earth's gravitational reach to the moon.
No. The moon is not a planet; it is a moon. If it had its own orbit around the sun it would be considered a terrestrial planet.
It takes the moon 29 days or about 1 month to orbit the earth.
The fact the earth is passing the moon in its orbit accounts for the apparent retrograde movement. It is a true optical illusion.
In this case, there is 'true' motion, and there is 'apparent' motion. To an observer on earth, the moon 'appears' to rise in the east and set in the west, just like the sun. But in fact the moon travels from west to east in its orbit around the earth. From a perspective far about the earth and to the north, the moon travels counter-clockwise around the earth. It is the relatively rapid daily spin of the earth from west to east that causes the apparent motion. The moon takes a whole month to orbit earth; in that time 27+ days have gone by on earth.
Our moons average distance from the Earth is 238,854 miles (384,399 km). However the Moon's orbit is elliptical and the distance therefore varies during its orbit though, from around 252,088 miles (405,696 km) at its furthest (Apogee) to 225,622 miles (363,104 km) at its closest (Perigee).
no
Not our (the Earth's) moon but Jupiter has lots of its own moons that orbit it.
One reason why landing a spacecraft on the moon takes careful planning is that the moon move along its own path (its own orbit).One reason why landing a spacecraft on the moon takes careful planning is that the moon always moves along its own orbit.
No. The moon is not a planet; it is a moon. If it had its own orbit around the sun it would be considered a terrestrial planet.
That depends on which moon you are talking about. Most likely, if you are just talking about "the Moon," it is our own planet Earth.
is moving along its own orbit
The Earth orbits the Sun. The plane of the Earth's orbit is called the "ecliptic". The Moon has its own orbit around the Earth, and its own orbital plane. If the plane of the Moon's orbit was the same as the plane of the Earth's orbit, then there WOULD be solar eclipses at every new moon, and lunar eclipses at every full moon. But the plane of the Moon's orbit is NOT the same as the plane of the Earth's orbit - and really, why would they be? The Moon's orbital plane is inclined by about 5 degrees from the ecliptic. Therefore, eclipses only happen at full and new moons about every six months, when the Moon happens to be crossing the ecliptic.
The moon orbits Earth.
No. The sun is a star, not a planet. The moon is a moon. If it had its own orbit around the sun it would be considered a terrestrial planet.
When a moon's orbit is backwards, it is referred to as a retrograde orbit.
Neptune's 7th moon Triton is in a retrograde orbit and although it isn't a moon Venus is in a retrograde orbit
It happens because the Moon's orbit is tilted relative to the Earth's orbit, so at Full Moon the Moon actually passes above or below the point where it is exactly in line with the Sun and Earth. For an eclipse to happen the Moon has to be in a special part of its orbit where its own orbit crosses the plane of the Earth's orbit. The point where it crosses over is a node, and it passes an ascending node and a descending node every time it goes round.