How Far Away Is the Moon?

The Short Answer:
The Moon is an average of 238,855 miles away from Earth, which is about 30 Earths away.

You might be surprised.

Often when we see drawings of the Earth and the Moon, they look really close together.


Cartoon of the Moon and Earth saying hello to eachother.

Don’t be fooled! They’re actually really far apart. The Moon is an average of 238,855 miles (384,400 km) away. How far away is that? That’s 30 Earths.


The Moon is 30 Earths away.

Average distance?

Why mention the average distance? Well, the Moon is not always the same distance away from Earth. The orbit is not a perfect circle.

When the Moon is the farthest away, it’s 252,088 miles away. That’s almost 32 Earths. When it's closest, the Moon is 225,623 miles away. That’s between 28 and 29 Earths.


So far apart!

The Moon and Earth are very far apart.

The Moon definitely seems close because we can see it so well without a telescope,


A cartoon of themoon saying that it's lovely.

but remember, it’s farther away than most people realize!


The Moon in the distance saying, I'm over here!

Related Resources for Educators

Distance to the Moon (Educator Guide)
Launchpad: Moon Magic

article last updated July 23, 2021
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How far apart?

To see for yourself how far apart Earth and the moon are, try this:

Materials

Basketball and tennis ball
  • Basketball
  • Tennis ball
  • Measuring tape

*If Earth was the size of a basketball, the moon would be the size of a tennis ball. This can give you an idea of how they compare.


Directions

  1. Place the basketball on the ground. This represents Earth.

  2. Use the measuring tape to find a spot 23 feet 9 inches away from the middle of the basketball. Place the tennis ball there. The tennis ball is the moon.

  3. Are the basketball Earth and tennis ball moon farther apart than you expected? Take a picture and show your friends and family how far apart the moon and Earth really are.

Extra!

Use nearby objects to remember how far 23 feet 9 inches is from the basketball. Ask others to place the tennis ball where they think the moon is.

They will be very surprised when you show them how far away it needs to be!