admin The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is 238,857 miles, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth.
Our moons average distance from the Earth is 238,857 miles (384,399 kilometers). However the Moon’s orbit is elliptical and the distance therefore varies during its orbit though, from around 252,088 miles (405,696 kilometers) at its furthest (Apogee) to 225,622 miles (363,104 kilometers) at its closest (Perigee).
If it was possible to fly to the Moon in an 747 airplane going 400 miles per hour it would take 26 days or 625 hours to get to the moon. In a space ship it takes about two days.
The distance between the Moon and the Earth varies from around 356,400 km to 406,700 km at the extreme perigees (closest) and apogees (farthest). On 19 March 2011, it was closer to the Earth while at full phase than it has been since 1993. Reported as a “super moon”, this closest point coincides within an hour of a full moon, and it thus appeared 30 percent brighter, and 14 percent larger than when at its greatest distance.
The Moon makes a complete orbit around the Earth with respect to the fixed stars about once every 27.3 days (its sidereal period). However, since the Earth is moving in its orbit about the Sun at the same time, it takes slightly longer for the Moon to show the same phase to Earth, which is about 29.5 days (its synodic period). Unlike most satellites of other planets, the Moon orbits nearer the ecliptic plane than to the planet’s equatorial plane. The Moon’s orbit is subtly perturbed by the Sun and Earth in many small, complex and interacting ways. For example, the plane of the Moon’s orbital motion gradually rotates, which affects other aspects of lunar motion. These follow-on effects are mathematically described by Cassini’s laws.
