How far away is the moon?

The Moon is very far away. So far, rockets take three days. It is about 239,000 miles away. That is many, many car rides.

The Moon is about 239,000 miles from Earth. That is so far that astronauts in a rocket take about three days to get there. The Moon does not stay exactly the same distance, because it goes around Earth in a stretched circle, like walking around a playground loop that is closer on one side and farther on the other.

The Moon is about 238,855 miles, or 384,400 kilometers, from Earth on average. Its distance changes because it travels around Earth in an orbit, which is the path something follows around another object. That path is a little oval-shaped, not a perfect circle, so the Moon is sometimes closer and sometimes farther away. Fun fact: moonlight takes only about 1.3 seconds to reach your eyes, even from that far away.