Earth travels around the Sun. The Moon travels around Earth at the same time. Press Play to follow both trips, or drag the slider to move at your own pace.
This model compares two orbits. It is not a map of the bodies’ positions on a real date.
Change where you look from. Earth’s real tilt stays the same.
Earth follows the large ring. The Moon follows the small ring around Earth.
Make a guess. Try it. Then check what you noticed.
How many Moon orbits fit into one Earth year?
Press Play. Follow Earth’s large ring and count the Moon’s smaller loops.
The Moon makes about 13 trips around Earth while Earth makes one trip around the Sun.
Which side of each body will be bright?
Press Play. Watch the bright side of Earth and the Moon as they move.
Each bright side faces the Sun. The Sun lights these worlds; they do not make their own light.
Does the Moon always stay level with Earth’s large ring?
Press Play. Watch the Moon move above and below the flat surface of Earth’s orbit.
The Moon’s orbit is tilted. The tilt helps explain why eclipses do not happen every month.
An orbit is a path around another object in space. Here, Earth orbits the Sun and the Moon orbits Earth. See how gravity bends an orbit.
Earth takes about 365 days to go around the Sun. The Moon takes about 27 days to go around Earth compared with the stars. That is about 13 Moon orbits during one Earth year.
Sunlight lights the side facing the Sun. As a body moves, we see that lit side from a different angle. Explore Moon phases from Earth.
No. It changes where you look from. Earth’s axis, the line it spins around, keeps its real lean of about 23.4°. See how that lean causes seasons.
Earth’s axis leans about 23.4° from an upright position. The Moon’s orbit tilts about 5° compared with the flat surface of Earth’s orbit. One describes a spinning world. The other describes a path around it.
