The Moon
384,400 kmaway on average
The Moon orbits 384,400 km from Earth on average — close enough that light makes the trip in 1.3 seconds and Apollo astronauts flew it in about 3 days, yet far enough that 30 Earths would fit in the gap.
▶ Visit the Moon in 3D
Our back yard — and it's still enormous
The Moon is 3,475 km across — about a quarter of Earth's width, unusually large for a moon relative to its planet. Its orbit is slightly elliptical: 356,500 km at its closest (a "supermoon" full moon), 406,700 km at its farthest. It is tidally locked, always showing us the same face, and it is slowly leaving: laser reflectors placed by Apollo crews show it drifting away at about 3.8 cm per year — roughly the rate your fingernails grow.
The Moon is the most distant place any human has ever stood — and the distance to it fits inside the Sun three and a half times over.
The Moon by the numbers
Diameter
3,475 km
Average distance
384,400 km
Closest / farthest
356,500 / 406,700 km
Light travel time
1.3 seconds
Apollo travel time
≈ 3 days
Surface gravity
1.62 m/s² (1/6 of Earth)
Orbit period
27.3 days
Drifting away at
3.8 cm per year
In the interactive view, the Moon circles Earth as you watch — then switch to 1:1 scale and see how even our nearest neighbour becomes hard to find.
Keep going
✓ Facts verified July 2026
Every figure on this page is a real, rounded value checked against primary sources. Found something out of date? See how we keep it accurate.