In Depth | Earth's Moon – NASA Solar System Exploration
The brightest and largest object in our night sky, the Moon makes Earth a more livable planet by moderating our home planet's wobble on its axis, leading to a relatively stable climate. It also causes tides, creating a rhythm that has guided humans for thousands of years.
In Depth | Earth – NASA Solar System Exploration
With a radius of 1,080 miles (1,738 kilometers), the Moon is the fifth largest moon in our solar system (after Ganymede, Titan, Callisto, and Io). The Moon is an average of 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) away from Earth. That means 30 Earth-sized planets could fit in between Earth and its Moon. Rings. Rings. Earth has no rings. Formation ...
Planet Compare - NASA Solar System Exploration
Jan 9, 2025 · NASA’s real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration. Our scientists and far-ranging robots explore the wild frontiers of our solar system.
What is a Supermoon? – NASA Solar System Exploration
May 20, 2021 · A supermoon occurs when the Moon’s orbit is closest (perigee) to Earth at the same time the Moon is full. So what's so special about a supermoon? For the interested observer, there's plenty to see and learn.
RPS 3D Viewer - NASA Solar System Exploration
Jan 9, 2025 · NASA’s real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration. Our scientists and far-ranging robots explore the wild frontiers of our solar system.
In Depth | Enceladus – NASA Solar System Exploration
Oct 9, 2008 · The moon creates a ring of its own as it orbits Saturn—its spray of icy particles spreads out into the space around its orbit, circling the planet to form Saturn’s E ring. Enceladus is named after a giant in Greek mythology.
Earth's Moon 3D Model - NASA Solar System Exploration
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In Depth | Sun – NASA Solar System Exploration
At the equator, the Sun spins around once about every 25 Earth days, but at its poles, the Sun rotates once on its axis every 36 Earth days. Moons As a star, the Sun doesn’t have any moons, but the planets and their moons orbit the Sun.
In Depth | Moons – NASA Solar System Exploration
Of the terrestrial (rocky) planets of the inner solar system, neither Mercury nor Venus have any moons at all, Earth has one and Mars has its two small moons. In the outer solar system, the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn and the ice giants Uranus and Neptune have dozens of moons.
Titan | Science – NASA Solar System Exploration
Jan 9, 2025 · During NASA's Cassini mission's final distant encounter with Saturn's giant moon Titan, the spacecraft captured the enigmatic moon's north polar landscape of lakes and seas, which are filled with liquid methane and ethane.