Live · Moon

How far is the Moon from Earth right now?

How far the Moon is from Earth right now is the centre-to-centre distance below, in kilometres, miles and light-seconds. NASA’s mean perigee is 363,300 km and mean apogee is 405,500 km; over a year the gap runs roughly from 357,000 km to 407,000 km.

Walk on the MoonAll distances

Computing the distance from your device’s clock…

Why the distance changes

The Moon’s path around Earth is an ellipse, and the Sun tugs it, so the distance never sits still. NASA’s Moon Fact Sheet gives a mean perigee of 363,300 km and a mean apogee of 405,500 km, and notes that over a year the distance runs roughly from 357,000 km to 407,000 km.

This page uses the same lunar series as the distance table and the Moon phase page: Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, chapter 47. It is usually good to a few kilometres, not a telescope ephemeris. Light crosses the gap in about 1.2 seconds at the near end of that range and about 1.4 seconds at the far end.

Other distances

Back to every body on the distance table. The same clock also fills these pages:

• Sun
• Moon
• Mercury
• Venus
• Mars
• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Uranus
• Neptune
• Pluto

Frequently asked questions

How far is the Moon from Earth right now?

The figure is Earth’s centre to the Moon’s centre at the time shown, in kilometres, miles, astronomical units and light travel time. It uses the series in Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, chapter 47. It is usually good to a few kilometres, not a telescope ephemeris.

What are perigee and apogee?

Perigee is the nearest point in the Moon’s orbit and apogee is the farthest. NASA’s Moon Fact Sheet gives a mean perigee of 363,300 km and a mean apogee of 405,500 km. Solar tugging changes those, so over a year the distance runs roughly from 357,000 km to 407,000 km.

Why does the Moon look larger some nights?

A closer Moon subtends a larger angle. From 357,000 km to 407,000 km the apparent diameter changes by about 14%. The difference is real, and it is smaller than many photographs suggest.

How long does light from the Moon take to arrive?

About 1.2 seconds near 357,000 km and about 1.4 seconds near 407,000 km. The live figure divides the current distance by 299,792.458 km/s.

Sources: Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, chapter 47 · NASA Moon Fact Sheet for perigee, apogee and the roughly 357,000–407,000 km yearly range.