Moon - Earth's Natural Satellite
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest moon in the solar system. Its surface shows 4.5 billion years of impact history.
Distance: 238,855 miles (384,400 km)
Apparent Size: 31' (same as Sun)
Orbital Period: 27.3 days
Key Features:
- Only celestial body humans have visited
- No atmosphere (pristine surface)
- Maria (dark basalt plains)
- Highlands (bright anorthosite)
- Impact craters throughout
- Tidal locking (same face always toward Earth)
Best Imaging: Any clear night
Phases: New → Crescent → Quarter → Gibbous → Full
!["Buck Moon" 07/10/2025](_data/i/upload/2025/07/11/20250711110648-537580bb-cu_e520x360.jpg ""Buck Moon" 07/10/2025 (78802 visits) The Buck Moon July 2025. 75x.00025sec fits exposures captured in N.I.N.A 3 and stacked in Siril 1.4....")