OtterKnow Kids EncyclopediaThe Moon is about 238,855 miles away from Earth. That sounds like a really long way, and it is! But the Moon is still our closest neighbor in space. It is much, much closer than any planet or star.
If you could drive a car to the Moon without stopping, it would take about six months to get there! But a spacecraft can make the trip in about three days. Even though the Moon is so far away, it is big and bright enough that we can see it with just our eyes. No telescope is needed! Astronauts traveled to the Moon and back in about eight days total.
- The Moon is slowly moving farther away from Earth, about one and a half inches every year.
- You could fit about 30 Earths in the space between Earth and the Moon.
- Scientists have bounced laser beams off mirrors that astronauts left on the Moon to measure exactly how far away it is!
