How far is it from the earth to the moon?
2006-09-17 00:33:09 · 6 answers · asked by Fancy Away 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Average distance is indeed 238,000 miles, But the orbit is elliptical and not circular, The nearest point to the earth is called perigee and the farthest away is called apogee, It reaches one of these points, once a fortnight, in every lunar sycle and thus 13 times a year.
Typical Perigee 363,104 km (0.0024 AU) or 226,940 miles
Typical Apogee 405,696 km (0.0027 AU) or 253,560 miles
The figures for the rest of this year are (given in kms):
Sep 22 apogee 406498 km
Oct 6 perigee 357409 km
Oct 19 apogee 406073 km
Nov 3 perigee 360597 km
Nov 15 apogee 405192 km
Dec 2 perigee 365922 km
Dec 13 apogee 404416 km
Dec 28 perigee 370320 km
As you can see, it is different every month and there is considerable variation from one month to the next,
The equivalent terms for the earth's (or any other sun-orbiter's) distance from the sun are perihelion and aphelion (after the Greek word for the sun, helios, which also lends its name to the element helium,
There are similar terms for maximum and minimum distances from other celestial bodies, but the suffix "-apsis" can be used for any body: periapsis and apoapsis (plurals: periapsides amd apoapsides) for minimum and maximum distances, therefore.
2006-09-17 00:42:50 · answer #1 · answered by Hitchmoughs_Guide _2 _The_Galaxy 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A good "rule of thumb" value to remember is a quarter million miles. More
precisely, the Moon's orbit is elliptical: its average orbital radius is
384401 km, apogee (farthest distance from the Earth) is 406700 km, and
perigee (distance of closest approach to the Earth) is 356400 km.
Extra credit: what do we call the closest and farthest orbital distances of
planets around the Sun? (hint: they begin with peri- and apo-)
2006-09-17 00:44:19 · answer #2 · answered by Novotny 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The average distance from the Moon to the Earth is 384,402 kilometres (238,857 mi), depending on its orbit.
2006-09-17 00:41:45 · answer #3 · answered by Me in Canada eh 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just under 250,000 miles away..
Getting farther every year..
It used to be less than 125,000 miles away...
2006-09-17 00:41:46 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
250000 miles give or take
2006-09-17 00:35:34 · answer #5 · answered by Michael S 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
239,000 miles
2006-09-17 03:19:39 · answer #6 · answered by Dan C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋