The correct answer is D. 23 hours 50 minutes.
The Moon orbits the Earth once every 27.3 days. However, the Earth also orbits the Sun once every 365.25 days. This means that the Moon appears to move across the sky from west to east in a slightly different position each day. It takes 29.5 days for the Moon to return to the same position in the sky, which is called a synodic month.
A transit of the Moon across the Sun occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. This can only happen when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are in a straight line, which is called a syzygy. Syzygies can occur at new moons or full moons.
The time interval between successive transits of the Moon across the Sun is 23 hours 50 minutes. This is because the Moon’s orbit around the Earth is not perfectly synchronized with the Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
Option A is incorrect because it is the time it takes for the Moon to orbit the Earth once. Option B is incorrect because it is the time it takes for the Earth to rotate once on its axis. Option C is incorrect because it is the time it takes for the Moon to return to the same position in the sky.