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How big is the Moon?


Credit: NASA Visualization Technology Applications and Development (VTAD)

Do you ever gaze up at the Moon in awe, wondering what secrets it holds? Well, wonder no more, my friends! Today, we’re taking a journey to explore the amazing and intriguing facts about the Moon. From its distance to its size, and its surface area to its gravity, we’re diving into all things lunar.

First up, let’s talk about its distance. Did you know that if the Moon orbited the Earth in a perfect circle, it would always be 238,855 miles away? That’s pretty impressive! Because of the gravity elsewhere in our Solar System the Moon does not travel in a perfect circle but in an elliptical orbit around the Earth. When the Moon is 90% percent closer than normal the Moon is said to be at its Perigree (Closest) with Earth. Combine this will a full moon and we observe what is called a Super Moon.

Size Comparison: Earth vs Moon Notice the difference in size? The Moon viewed from Earth at perigee (closest approach at 356,700km on October 26 2007) and apogee (farthest approach at 406,300km on April 3 2007). Wikimedia/Tomruen, CC BY-SA

But it’s not just its distance that’s impressive. The Moon’s surface area is also a little over 1/4th the surface area of land on Earth, making it a pretty big rock up in the sky. And, when it comes to surface area, the Moon has a little less than the surface area of the Asian continent.

Size Comparison: Earth vs Moon Source: Wikipedia Size isn't everything, right? We also need to talk about mass. The Moon's mass is equal to about 1.2% of the Earth's mass. This effects the gravity that the moon holds on visiting bodies. Gravity is also an important factor when it comes to the Moon. Did you know that its gravity is about 16.6% percent of the Earth's? That means that if you weighed 100 pounds on Earth, you would only weigh about 16.6 pounds on the Moon.

So let’s put all these facts into perspective. If the Earth was a nickel, the Moon would be the size of a coffee bean. If the Earth was a basketball, the moon would be the size of a tennis ball. And, if you wanted to walk around the Moon’s equator, you would need to take a trip of 1,080 miles. Since the gravity of the Moon makes locomotion (caveat: without a spacesuit) 6x easier, it would take about a week of eight hours days to walk around the Moon. Someday walking around the moon might be like a college spring break out on the trails!

So, there you have it! Keep your eyes to the Sun and Moon-shine and you cannot see the shadows.1

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Footnotes

  1. Helen Keller - “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It’s what the sunflowers do.” ↩


Author: Luna Stellumoj