Does the moon rotate on its axis?

Answer 1

The moon does rotate about its own axis, once every 27.32 days. "Day and night" on the Moon are each 13.66 Earth days long.

....but don't think of it this way just yet. This will create confusion until you understand truly what I'm saying.

If you take a Basketball and spin it on your finger, the basketball is spinning on its own axis. If this was exactly how the moon rotated, we could see all sides of it, just like the basketball. But the way that it works is different...the far side of the moon can never be seen from Earth by looking into the sky (unless you use mirrors!).

Take a basketball (Earth) and a ping pong ball (moon) and mark an 'X' on the ping pong ball. Make the ping pong balls 'X' face the 'Earth.' Now rotate the 'moon' around the 'Earth' so that the 'X' is always facing the Earth.

If you watch from above (bird's-eye view), you will notice that the ping pong ball actually has completed one full rotation about its own axis, as well as one revolution about the 'Earth' axis (one orbit around the Earth). And yet, no matter where on Earth you are you wouldn't be able to see the far side because it is always facing away from you!

This is due to a phenomenon called tidal locking. The moon is tidally locked with the earth, which means its rotation is the same as its orbit, causing the same portion of the moon to always be visible from earth, which is why we only ever see one side of the moon.

You can tell that the moon actually does rotate by its phases; the bright portion of the moon is sunlight reflecting off its surface and it is daytime on the portion of the moon that is lit by the Sun.

Answer 2

Yes, the moon rotates, completing one spin every 27.32 days.

It also revolves in its orbit around the earth with exactly the same period.

That's how the moon winds up with the same features always facing us.

Answer 3

Of course the moon rotates. If it didn't, then when it's on one side of us we'd see

the front of it, and when it's on the other side of us we'd see the back of it. But

that's not what happens. What happens is: We always see exactly the same side

of the moon. The only way that can work is if the moon rotates in exactly the same

time it takes to go around the Earth ... 27.32 days.

Answer 4

Yes, the moon does rotate on its axis. However, it takes the same amount of time for the moon to rotate once on its axis as it does to orbit the Earth, resulting in the same side of the moon always facing towards Earth.

Answer 5

Yes, it certainly does, once every 27.32 days.

Answer 6

No. The Moon rotates on its axis once per orbit, which is 27 days. This keeps the same face of the Moon always turned toward the Earth.

Answer 7

Yes does 27.32 days.

Answer 8

Yes, it does that once every 27.32 days.

Answer 9

Yes.