The document discusses the moon's elliptical orbit around Earth, which varies in distance between 356,000 and 407,000 km. The orbit can be modeled using an equation for an ellipse, with the Earth at one focus and the moon orbiting around the elliptical path. The diagram illustrates the moon's orbit around Earth, showing the major and minor axes as well as the foci points of the elliptical orbit.

1. The Moon’s Orbit Kathryn Egleston Ayla Pelton-Cox Jessi Hawthorne

2. Distances Its distance from the Earth varies between 356,000 and 407,000 km (221,000 and 253,000 miles) depending on were the moon is in position to the earth in the course of each month (or one moon cycle); the average distance is 384,400 km (238,900 miles).

3. Equation General Form (x- 384,400)^2 + (y- 407,000)^2 =1 407,000^2 384,400^2 Foci (559832,0) (-559832,0) - c^2=a^2+b^2 -Square root of (407,000)^2+(384,400)^2

4. The Drawing Center- earth at (0,0) Major axis- 814,000 (407000,0) (-407000,0) Minor axis-768,800( 0,384400)(o,-384400) Foci- (559832,0) (-559832,0)

5. A Diagram of the Moon’s Elliptical Orbit

6. Moon Summary The moon orbits around the earth in an elliptical pattern. The length of the semi-major axis is 384,299 kilometers, and the closest the moon ever gets to Earth is 363,104 kilometers. This elliptical pattern causes the tides to be stronger at certain points in the moon's path.

7. Summary Continued The moons orbit makes an ellipsis around the earth due to the fact the earth in not a perfect sphere the distance varies in different locations on the earth.

8. Works Cited http://home.insightbb.com/~lasweb/lessons/moonorbit.htm