The rhythm of the phases of the moon has guided humanity for millennia; for instance, calendar months are roughly equal to the time it takes to go from one full moon to the next. But the moon's orbit and phases can seem mysterious. for example, the moon always shows us the same face, but it's always changing size as how much of it we see depends on the moon's position in relation to Earth and the sun.
While it's a satellite of Earth, the moon, with a diameter of about 2,159 miles (3,475 kilometers), is bigger than Pluto. (And there are four other moons in our solar system even bigger than ours.)
Here are some statistics from NASA:
- Average distance from Earth: 238,855 miles (384,400 km)
- Perigee (closest approach to Earth): 225,700 miles (363,300 km)
- Apogee (farthest distance from Earth): 252,000 miles (405,500 km)
- Orbit circumference: 1,499,618.58 miles (2,413,402 km)
- Mean orbit velocity: 2,287 mph (3,680.5 kph)
The moon's gravity pulls at the Earth, causing predictable rises and falls in sea levels known as tides. To a much smaller extent, tides also occur in lakes, the atmosphere and within Earth's crust.
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