• The Moon is about 238,855 miles from Earth. 

• About 30 Earths could fit in between Earth and the Moon.

• It would take about 6 hours to travel from Earth to the Moon in a spacecraft. 

Size

• The diameter of the moon is about 2,160 miles.

• About 50 Moons could fit inside Earth. 

Shape

• The moon has a sphere (round) shape. 

Light

• The Moon may appear to shine brightly in the night sky but it actually does not produce its own light. Light from the Sun reflects off the surface of the Moon, making it appear bright to observers on Earth. 

Temperature 

• In places where the Sun’s light reaches the Moon’s surface, the temperature is about 260°F. 

  • This is about 4.5 times hotter than the average temperature on Earth.  

• The parts of the Moon where the Sun’s light does not reach are very cold. In darkness, the temperatures are about -280°F.

  • This is about 4.7 times colder than the average temperature on Earth. 

• The Moon is slowly moving away from Earth little by little. It gets about an inch farther away from Earth each year.

• The Moon used to have many active volcanoes on its surface, but those volcanoes are no longer actively erupting. 

• Asteroids and comets hit the surface of the moon often. These collisions create lots of craters on the surface.