Moon Seems Incredible, But The Distance From The Earth To The Moon Is So Great That All The Planets In The Solar System Could Fit In Between.
The distance between the Earth and the Moon seems small due to the intensity with which it reflects the sunlight and the apparent size of the natural satellite . The truth is that an astronomical amount of kilometers separates us from it.
The Moon is essential for life on our planet. Our natural satellite interacts with phenomena such as gravity, tides and light on our planet, in addition to causing an increase in the duration of a day on Earth.
What Is The Distance From The Earth To The Moon?
Photo: Getty Images
On average, the distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,400 kilometers.
However, this number varies according to the translation of the Moon around the Earth.
Because the Moon’s orbit is similar to an ellipse that has our planet in one of its foci, the average distance of 384,400 kilometers can vary when it is in perigee (that is, at the time of its orbit in which passes closer to Earth) and at its peak (when it is farther from our planet).
When our natural satellite is at perigee , the minimum distance from Earth to the Moon is 363,000 104 kilometer s . And when it is at its peak , it reaches a maximum distance of 405,696 kilometers from Earth.
To understand the abysmal mean distance between the Moon and us, just look at this animation created by James O’Donoghue , a planetary scientist at the Japan Space Exploration Agency (JAXA) and science popularizer.
In it, it is shown that in the 384 thousand 400 kilometers that separate us from the Moon there could be 32 planets Earth or, what is the same, the rest of the planets of the Solar System aligned one after another:
What Is A Supermoon?
A supermoon occurs when two phenomena coincide: the Moon’s orbit is in perigee and its phase is a full moon. At that moment, the Moon can be seen up to 14% brighter and 30% larger than on an average night.However, not in all supermoons the natural satellite of the Earth is seen so close to us.The next time the two requirements for a supermoon are met, it will be on April 27, 2021, followed by May 26 of the same year.
However, the next supermoon that will approach a minimum distance from Earth will occur on November 25, 2034 , when the Moon is 356,445 kilometers from Earth , the shortest distance since 1948 between the two stars.
