ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى رَفَعَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ بِغَيْرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَوْنَهَا ۖ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ ٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ ۖ كُلٌّ يَجْرِى لِأَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۚ يُدَبِّرُ ٱلْأَمْرَ يُفَصِّلُ ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ لَعَلَّكُم بِلِقَآءِ رَبِّكُمْ تُوقِنُونَ

It is Allah Who has raised the heavens without pillars—as you can see—then established Himself on the Throne. He has subjected the sun and the moon, each orbiting for an appointed term. He conducts the whole affair. He makes the signs clear so that you may be certain of the meeting with your Lord. [Ar Ra`d 13: 2]

It is important that we understand that not only the Moon, but rather every creation of Allah including us – humans, are at the total and complete control of Allah, the most High.

Scientists have done various studies on the sun, the moon and the earth and their findings and results have all been recorded but this only enhances our belief in the power and might of the One True Lord, Allah.

The Moon and Earth

The Moon is the most recognisable object in the night sky, and has an enormous impact on life here on Earth. But what is the exact distance between the Earth and the Moon? And why is that question not as simple as it sounds? Let`s try and find out why…

How far away is the Moon from the Earth?

The average distance between the Earth and the Moon is 384 400 km (238 855 miles).

How far is that in light-seconds?

Light travels at 300,000 kilometres per second, so it takes about 1.3 seconds for light to travel from the Moon back to the Earth. In other words, the Moon is 1.3 light-seconds away from the Earth.

Apogee, perigee and average distance – the distance to the Moon explained

Astronomers tend to talk about three different numbers when talking about the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

At its furthest point from the Earth, the Moon is about 405 696 km (252 088 miles) away and astronomers say that the Moon is at apogee (‘apo’ means ‘away’).

On the other hand, when the Moon is at perigee (‘peri’ means ‘near’), the Moon is at its closest approach to the Earth. The distance between them is only 363 104 km (225 623 miles).

These two figures differ by 42 592 km (26 465 miles) – more than three times larger than the diameter of the Earth! The average distance between the Earth and the Moon is 384 400 km (238 855 miles).

The supermoon and micromoon

The full Moon will look slightly bigger if it occurs during perigee (sometimes called a supermoon) and slightly smaller at apogee (a micromoon). However, the difference won’t be easily noticeable to the naked eye and a side-by-side photographic comparison is the only way to really see it.

How does the Moon affect the tides?

Our tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun and the Earth’s rotation. High tides are highest and low tides are lowest when it is a full moon or a new moon because of the gravitational pull of our natural satellite and star add up. These tides are called spring tides, as the tides spring out and spring back, they do not have anything to do with the spring season. At perigee, the Moon’s gravitational pull will be slightly stronger than usual and so the difference between high and low tides would be larger – but only by about 5cm!

How far is the Moon from the sun?

Since the Moon orbits the Earth and the Earth orbits the Sun, both the Moon and the Earth are the same average distance away from the Sun. On average, the Earth and Moon are about 150 million kilometres (or 93 million miles) from the Sun!

That distance is so large that it takes light eight minutes to reach us (remember that light travels at 300,000 kilometres per second). That means that if the Sun were to stop shining right now, we wouldn’t know for another eight minutes.

How long does it take to get to the Moon from the Earth?

On average it would take three days, but it depends on how fast you are travelling and the exact route you take. It also depends on what you want to do – passing by the Moon does not require you to slow down to enter its orbit, minimising the time it would take to get there.

· The record for the shortest journey time to the Moon is currently held by the New Horizons spacecraft with a time of 8 hours and 35 minutes.

· The first spacecraft to attempt to reach the Moon was the Soviet Union’s Luna 1 in 1959. Unfortunately, it did not slow down enough to complete its mission, but it did reach the vicinity of the Moon within 34 hours (1 day 10 hours).

How long would it take to drive to the moon?

If you were driving at a speed of 40mph it would take approximately 5,791.375 hours to get to the Moon. However, this depends on whether the Moon is in apogee or perigee – and what kind of rocket car you have of course.

How long does it take the Moon to orbit the Earth?

The lunar phase cycle takes 29.5 days to complete, and is directly connected to the orbit of the Moon around the Earth. However, this is not how long it takes for one orbit to complete. Instead, the Moon takes 27.3 days to orbit the Earth once.

If you measure how the Moon orbits compared to these distant stars you get 27.3 days, the true orbital period of the Moon. However, the phases of the Moon are dependent on how the Moon, Earth and Sun are placed. During the time the Moon orbits the Earth, the Earth has moved on in its orbit around the Sun. In effect, the Moon needs a couple of extra days to catch up and return to the same point in space relative to the Sun. Hence the 29.5-day lunar phase cycle.

How long is a day on the Moon?

You may have noticed that the full Moon always looks about the same. You always see the same pattern of craters, hills, valleys and mare (seas) on the full Moon. In fact, if you look at any phase of the Moon, it will always show the same features, though not all of the features will be lit up.

This is because the Moon spins at the same rate as it orbits around the Earth, with the exception of a couple of minor wobbles (known as libration) that brings a little more of the Moon into view. This means we only ever see the near side of the Moon from Earth, and never the far side. This is sometimes known as the “dark side” of the Moon – not because it actually is dark, but because it was mysterious and unknown until humans explored it.

The result is a very slowly rotating Moon: it takes 29.5 days to go from midday to midday on the Moon. Daylight lasts about two weeks and night time another two weeks. That, coupled with the lack of an atmosphere on the Moon, means the temperature changes wildly from over 100°C during the day to around -150°C at night.