what is the name for earth's moon
Moon The usual English proper name for Earth's natural satellite is "the Moon", which in nonscientific texts is usually not capitalized.[12][13][14][15][16] The noun moon is derived from Old English mōna, which (like all Germanic language cognates) stems from Proto-Germanic *mēnô, which comes from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s "moon", "month", which comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *meh₁- "to measure", the month being the ancient unit of time measured by the Moon.[17][18] Occasionally, the name "Luna" is used. In literature, especially science fiction, "Luna" is used to distinguish it from other moons, while in poetry, the name has been used to denote personification of our moon.[19]
Lunar distance (astronomy) Lunar distance (LD or   Δ ⊕ L   {\textstyle \Delta _{\oplus L}} ), also called Earth–Moon distance, Earth–Moon characteristic distance, or distance to the Moon, is a unit of measure in astronomy. It is the average distance from the center of Earth to the center of the Moon. More technically, it is the mean semi-major axis of the geocentric lunar orbit. It may also refer to the time-averaged distance between the centers of the Earth and the Moon, or less commonly, the instantaneous Earth–Moon distance. The lunar distance is approximately a quarter of a million miles (7008400000000000000♠400000 km).[1]