The Moon is on average 384,400 km from the Earth, about thirty Earths lined up. Its orbit is not a perfect circle, so the distance changes every day: around 363,000 km at its closest point (perigee) and 405,000 km at its farthest (apogee). A full moon near perigee looks about 14 % larger than one near apogee, the “supermoon” of the news. Light covers the distance in about 1.3 seconds, which is why conversations with Apollo astronauts had small delays. Measured by bouncing lasers off mirrors left by Apollo crews, the Moon moves about 3.8 cm farther from the Earth every year.
How far away is the Moon right now?
Computing…
Questions and answers
How long would it take to drive to the Moon?
At 100 km/h without stopping, about five months. Apollo astronauts took about three days.
Why is the Moon moving away?
The tides it raises on the Earth slow the Earth’s rotation and give the Moon a little energy, which slowly widens its orbit.
Where the numbers come from
Values refresh every second in your browser; the published data are checked every 10 minutes and updated several times a day.