What is the relationship between the Moon's rotation and revolution periods?

The Moon revolves around the Earth in its orbit in exactly the same number of Earth days that it takes to spin once around on its axis. This causes the same face of the Moon to be seen from the Earth. The orbital and rotation periods are, with respect to the distant stars, 27.32166140 +/- 0.00000016 days. This is called the sidereal period.


Copyright 1997 Dr. Sten Odenwald
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