Two of the most distinctive characteristics of the raccoon are its facial mask around the eyes and extremely sensitive front paws. They are also known for their good memory. Often raccoons live together in small, loose groups. Their original habitats are deciduous or mixed forests, but due to their adaptability, they are also found in urban areas where some house owners consider them to be pests.

Unlike the moons of other planets, the moon of the Earth has no proper English name other than "the Moon" (capitalized).

The word moon is a Germanic word, related to Latin mensis; it is ultimately a derivative of the Proto-Indo-European root me-, also represented in measure (time), with reminders of its importance in measuring time in words derived from it like Monday, month and menstrual. In English, the word moon exclusively meant "the Moon" until 1665, when it was extended to refer to the recently-discovered natural satellites of other planets. The Moon is occasionally referred to by its Latin name, Luna, in order to distinguish it from other natural satellites, with a related adjective lunar, and an adjectival prefix seleno- or suffix -selene (from the Greek deity Selene).

A spotting scope is a portable telescope, optimized for the observation of terrestrial objects. The magnification of a spotting scope is typically on the order of 20X to 60X