The Moon takes about 27.3 days to orbit Earth once with respect to the distant stars, and about 29.5 days to go from one new moon to the next.

Quick Scoop

  • The Moon’s orbital period (sidereal month) is about 27.3 days; this is how long it takes to complete one full path around Earth relative to the stars.
  • The lunar month (synodic period) is about 29.5 days; this is the time between identical phases, like new moon to new moon.
  • The two numbers are different because while the Moon orbits Earth, Earth is also moving around the Sun, so the Moon needs extra time to line up with the Sun–Earth geometry again.

A simple way to picture it

Imagine you and a friend walking in a big circle around a lamp, while you spin a small ball around you on a shorter circle.

  • One full orbit of the ball around you is like the 27.3‑day sidereal orbit.
  • Getting the ball back into the same lighting angle from the lamp as before (same phase) takes a little extra motion, like the 29.5‑day synodic month.

TL;DR:

  • Around Earth once: about 27.3 days.
  • Same phase to same phase: about 29.5 days.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.