Moon

The Moon

Solar System

Scientific overview

The Moon is a moon orbiting Earth.

Physical characteristics

Mass	0.073 ×10²⁴ kg
Diameter	3,475 km
Radius	1,737.5 km
Density	3.344 g/cm³
Albedo	0.12
Magnitude	-12.74

Notable surface features

Exploration

Sources

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.
NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics
Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.

Quick facts

Type: Moon
Orbits: Earth

Provenance & sources

review 2026.1

Asteria Scientific Review Process · verification: sourced · accurate

High evidenceconfirmed
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth-largest moon in the Solar System; it is tidally locked, always presenting the same face to Earth.
Source: NASA (NSSDCA) — NASA Planetary Fact Sheet · Public domain (US Government work)
- NASA Planetary Fact Sheet, Planetary Fact Sheet

Reviewed by the internal Asteria Scientific Review Process — not an external institutional review. See the evidence framework and authority dashboard.

Scientific citations

Real, source-backed references — primary papers first, then datasets and institutional sources. Formatted through the citation engine; nothing is fabricated.

DatasetMoon Fact Sheet

NASA Goddard — NSSDCA

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

NASA Goddard — NSSDCA (n.d.). Moon Fact Sheet. NASA Goddard — NSSDCA. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html

@misc{cite:factsheet-moon-the-moon,
  title        = {Moon Fact Sheet},
  organization = {NASA Goddard — NSSDCA},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html},
  note         = {Physical and orbital parameters for Moon.}
}

Archive pageJPL Horizons System

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech)

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech) (n.d.). JPL Horizons System. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech). https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/

@misc{cite:jpl-horizons,
  title        = {JPL Horizons System},
  organization = {NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech)},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/},
  note         = {Authoritative Solar System ephemerides — the reference standard for high-precision Moon position (not fetched in v1).}
}

Institutional pageEarth's Moon — NASA Science

NASA

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

NASA (n.d.). Earth's Moon — NASA Science. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/

@misc{cite:nasa-moon,
  title        = {Earth's Moon — NASA Science},
  organization = {NASA},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://science.nasa.gov/moon/},
  note         = {NASA overview of the Moon: phases, the synodic month, and lunar facts.}
}

Institutional pageMoon — NASA Solar System Exploration

NASA

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

NASA (n.d.). Moon — NASA Solar System Exploration. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/

@misc{cite:nasa-moon-the-moon,
  title        = {Moon — NASA Solar System Exploration},
  organization = {NASA},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://science.nasa.gov/},
  note         = {NASA overview of Moon.}
}

Institutional pageUSNO Astronomical Applications Department

United States Naval Observatory

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

United States Naval Observatory (n.d.). USNO Astronomical Applications Department. United States Naval Observatory. https://aa.usno.navy.mil/

@misc{cite:usno-astronomical-applications,
  title        = {USNO Astronomical Applications Department},
  organization = {United States Naval Observatory},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://aa.usno.navy.mil/},
  note         = {Solar and lunar coordinates, phase, and rise/set/twilight/transit methodology (the Astronomical Almanac); the public-domain formulae behind the computed Moon phase, the computed Sun & twilight times, and the computed moonrise/moonset and lunar position.}
}

Quality & authority

56%

Reviewed

Completeness: Complete
Source coverage: Partial
Citation coverage: Complete
Relationship coverage: Complete
Review coverage: Complete
Image coverage: None

Data from the NASA Planetary Fact Sheet & JPL (public domain). See source quality.

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Sources

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration

Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.

Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.

NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics

Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.

NASA Goddard — NSSDCA (n.d.). Moon Fact Sheet. NASA Goddard — NSSDCA. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html @misc{cite:factsheet-moon-the-moon, title = {Moon Fact Sheet}, organization = {NASA Goddard — NSSDCA}, year = {n.d.}, url = {https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html}, note = {Physical and orbital parameters for Moon.} }

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech) (n.d.). JPL Horizons System. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech). https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/ @misc{cite:jpl-horizons, title = {JPL Horizons System}, organization = {NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech)}, year = {n.d.}, url = {https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/}, note = {Authoritative Solar System ephemerides — the reference standard for high-precision Moon position (not fetched in v1).} }

NASA (n.d.). Earth's Moon — NASA Science. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/moon/ @misc{cite:nasa-moon, title = {Earth's Moon — NASA Science}, organization = {NASA}, year = {n.d.}, url = {https://science.nasa.gov/moon/}, note = {NASA overview of the Moon: phases, the synodic month, and lunar facts.} }

NASA (n.d.). Moon — NASA Solar System Exploration. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/ @misc{cite:nasa-moon-the-moon, title = {Moon — NASA Solar System Exploration}, organization = {NASA}, year = {n.d.}, url = {https://science.nasa.gov/}, note = {NASA overview of Moon.} }

United States Naval Observatory (n.d.). USNO Astronomical Applications Department. United States Naval Observatory. https://aa.usno.navy.mil/ @misc{cite:usno-astronomical-applications, title = {USNO Astronomical Applications Department}, organization = {United States Naval Observatory}, year = {n.d.}, url = {https://aa.usno.navy.mil/}, note = {Solar and lunar coordinates, phase, and rise/set/twilight/transit methodology (the Astronomical Almanac); the public-domain formulae behind the computed Moon phase, the computed Sun & twilight times, and the computed moonrise/moonset and lunar position.} }