<P> The Moon orbits Earth in the prograde direction and completes one revolution relative to the stars in approximately 27.323 days ( a sidereal month ) . Earth and the Moon orbit about their barycentre ( common center of mass ) , which lies about 4,600 km ( 2,900 mi ) from Earth 's center ( about 3 / 4 of the radius of Earth ) . On average , the distance to the Moon is about 385,000 km ( 239,000 mi ) from Earth 's centre , which corresponds to about 60 Earth radii . With a mean orbital velocity of 1.022 km / s ( 2,290 mph ) , the Moon appears to move relative to the stars each hour by an amount roughly equal to its angular diameter , or by about half a degree . The Moon differs from most satellites of other planets in that its orbit is close to the plane of the ecliptic , and not to Earth 's equatorial plane . The plane of the lunar orbit is inclined to the ecliptic by about 5 ° , whereas the Moon 's equatorial plane is inclined by only 1.5 ° to the ecliptic . </P>
<P> The Moon orbits Earth in the prograde direction and completes one revolution relative to the stars in approximately 27.323 days ( a sidereal month ) . Earth and the Moon orbit about their barycentre ( common center of mass ) , which lies about 4,600 km ( 2,900 mi ) from Earth 's center ( about 3 / 4 of the radius of Earth ) . On average , the distance to the Moon is about 385,000 km ( 239,000 mi ) from Earth 's centre , which corresponds to about 60 Earth radii . With a mean orbital velocity of 1.022 km / s ( 2,290 mph ) , the Moon appears to move relative to the stars each hour by an amount roughly equal to its angular diameter , or by about half a degree . The Moon differs from most satellites of other planets in that its orbit is close to the plane of the ecliptic , and not to Earth 's equatorial plane . The plane of the lunar orbit is inclined to the ecliptic by about 5 ° , whereas the Moon 's equatorial plane is inclined by only 1.5 ° to the ecliptic . </P>
how many days does it take for the moon to rotate around the earth
how many days does it take for the moon to rotate around the earth
27.323
27.323