Ok google the distance from the earth to the moon. How was the distance from the Earth to the Moon measured? Topographic map of the Moon

It is no secret that people have long dreamed of flying into space - unknown, vast spaces fascinate and beckon, but space tourism has not yet become a mass industry. Why? Yes, because getting to another planet is not so easy. Even the Moon, which seems to be within easy reach when we look at it at night, is many kilometers away. How long does it take to fly to the moon?

Distance from Earth to Moon

The average distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,399 km.

We say average because the Moon's orbit is not circular, but elliptical - this means that the distance between the Earth and the Moon changes. At perigee - the closest point to the Earth - the distance is 363,104 km, at apogee - the most distant point - 405,696 km.

So, we know the distance, which means that to find the time it takes to get to the Moon, you just need to divide it by the speed. Based on this fact, we get:

It will take 9 years to walk to the Moon (and you will have to walk continuously at a speed of 5 km/h).
By car (if you take an average speed of 100 km/h and, again, without stopping), you can get to the Moon in 160 days.
The plane (average speed 800 km/h) will fly in 20 days.
A modern Apollo-type spacecraft can reach the Moon in three days.

As you can see, the path is not short, and not everyone can withstand such a continuous flight, and it is worth considering that the flight would cost a fabulous amount of money.

One of the main character traits of any person is curiosity. It is to her that humanity owes most of the scientific discoveries and the benefits of technological progress based on them. Since ancient times, people have peered with interest at the night sky, in which countless stars shone, and the Moon slowly floated across the sky. It is not surprising that since then the dream of visiting some celestial body has not left man.

The invention of the telescope confirmed the assumption that the Moon is at a minimum distance from the Earth. From that moment on, science fiction writers in their novels sent intrepid travelers to this celestial body. It is interesting that the proposed methods were fully consistent with the spirit of their time: a projectile, a rocket based on a jet engine, the anti-gravity substance cavorite (H. Wells), etc. True, no one could say exactly how long to fly to the Moon.

Quite a lot of time has passed since then. Although the term “many” is applicable to the duration of human life, for history only a moment has passed. Nowadays, natural is increasingly seen not just as an abstract flight goal, but as the basis for the bases of the future. These could be settlements under a super-strong dome, sealed cities under the surface, automatic observatories and refueling stations for spaceships. Truly, the flight of fancy has no limits. It’s surprising that many people don’t even know how far it is to the moon.

Now the distance from the Earth to the satellite has been calculated with high accuracy. Therefore, knowing the speed, you can calculate how long it will take to fly to the Moon. It is known that the distance between the central points of these celestial bodies is 384,400 km. But since to determine the travel time you need to know the path between the surfaces, you need to subtract the radius values. For the Earth it is 6378 km, and for the satellite it is 1738 km. The exact answer to the question: “How long does it take to get to the moon?” suggests the need to take into account the features of the orbit of our natural satellite. As you know, the Moon is close to an oval (that is, elliptical), so the path length varies within as much as 12%, which is quite a lot. So, at the closest approach (perigee) the distance is 363,104 km, but at the farthest point (apogee) it is already 405,696 km. Considering the sum of their radii, we subtract the known values from the smaller number and the result is 354,988 km. This is the distance from the Earth to the lunar surface.

Based on the distance mentioned above, we can say with absolute certainty how long it will take to fly to the Moon. All that remains to be taken into account is the speed at which it is planned to carry out the desired journey. So, the flight time to the surface of the natural satellite depends on the chosen means of transportation and takes:

160 days when driving a car moving at a speed of about 100 km/h;

Accordingly, an aircraft flying at least 800 km per hour will need “only” 20 days;

The ships of the American Apollo program reached the surface of our satellite in three days and four hours;

Having developed the second at 11.2 km/s, it will be possible to cover the distance in 9.6 hours;

By turning into pure energy (remember Arthur C. Clarke's A Space Odyssey) and traveling at (300,000 km/s), the goal can be reached in a paltry 1.25 seconds;

Well, for the adherents of the saying: “The slower you go, the further you will go!” You will have to spend at least nine years if you continuously walk at a normal pace at a speed of 5 km/h.

Obviously, the question: “How long does it take to get to the moon?” can now be considered resolved. All that remains is to choose a vehicle, then, depending on the decision made, stock up on the necessary patience, the required amount of provisions and hit the road.

In addition to the scattering of stars, the decoration of the night sky is, of course, the Moon. The combination of its size and distance from Earth makes it the second brightest celestial object and can completely obscure the sun's disk during an eclipse. It is not surprising that the night star has attracted the attention of mankind for more than one millennium.

If the Earth did not have a Moon, many things would have turned out differently:

the day would be much shorter;
the seasons and climate would be characterized by instability;
there would be less pronounced ebbs and flows;
the appearance of life on the planet in its current form would be in question.

Moon diameter

The average diameter of the Moon is not too large by cosmic standards - 3474.1 km. This is approximately two times less than the distance from Moscow to Vladivostok.

Still, Luna ranks fifth place in size among the natural satellites of the planets of the Solar System:

Ganymede.
Titanium.
Callisto.
Moon.

But when comparing the sizes of satellites in relation to their planets, the Moon has no equal. With a diameter a quarter of the Earth's, it ranks first. In addition, its size is larger than that of Pluto.

What is the distance from the Earth to the Moon

The value is not constant. On average, there are 384,400 kilometers between the centers of the planet and its natural satellite. This space would fit about 30 more Earths, and it takes light 1.28 seconds to travel that distance.

What if the nearest celestial body could be reached by car at a speed of 95 km/h? Considering that the entire distance is approximately 10 circles of the Earth, the journey would take the same amount of time as 10 trips around the planet along the equator. That is a little less than six months. So far, the fastest distance to the Moon has been covered by the interplanetary station New Horizons, which on its way to Pluto crossed the satellite’s orbit eight and a half hours after launch.

The Moon's orbit is not a perfect circle, but an oval (ellipse) within which the Earth is located. At different points it is located closer or further from the planet. Because of this, when rotating around a common center of mass with the Earth, the satellite either approaches or moves away. Thus, the fewest kilometers separate celestial bodies when the night star is in a place in its orbit called perigee. At the point designated as apogee, the satellite is furthest from the planet. The minimum distance is 356,400 km, and the maximum is 406,700 km. So the distance fluctuates from 28 to 32 earth diameters.

The first close to correct estimates of the distance to the “neighbor” Earth were obtained back in the 2nd century. n. e. Ptolemy. Nowadays, thanks to modern reflective devices installed on the satellite, the distance has been measured most accurately (with an error of several cm). To do this, a laser beam is directed at the Moon. Then they note the period during which it will return to the Earth after being reflected. Knowing the speed of light and the time it took to reach the sensors, it is easy to calculate the distance.

How to visually estimate the size of the Moon and its distance to Earth

The Earth's diameter is approximately 4 times larger than the Moon's, and the volume is 64 times. The distance to the night star is approximately 30 times the diameter of the planet. To visually estimate the distance from the Earth to its satellite and compare their sizes, you will need two balls: a basketball and a tennis ball. Diameter ratios:

Earth (12,742 km) and Moon (3,474.1 km) - 3.7: 1;
standard basketball (24 cm) and tennis ball (6.7 cm) - 3.6:1.

The values are quite close. Thus, if the Earth were the size of a basketball, then its satellite would be the size of a tennis ball.

You can ask people to imagine that the Earth is a basketball, and the Moon is a tennis ball, and show how far the satellite is from the planet on this scale. Most will likely guess a distance of 30 cm to a few steps.

In fact, to show the correct distance, you will have to move away a little more than seven meters. Thus, there is an average of 384,400 km between the planet and its satellite, which is approximately 30 Earths or, respectively, 30 basketballs. Multiplying the diameter of the sports equipment by 30 gives the result 7.2 m. This is approximately 9 male or 11 female steps.

Apparent size of the Moon from Earth

360 angular degrees- the entire circumference of the celestial sphere. At the same time, the night star occupies about half of one degree on it (on average 31 minutes) - this is the angular (visible) diameter. For comparison: the width of the index fingernail at arm's length is approximately one degree, that is, two moons.

By a unique coincidence, the apparent sizes of the Sun and Moon for the inhabitants of the Earth are almost the same. This is possible because the diameter of the nearest star 400 times the diameter of the satellite, but the daylight is located the same number of times further away. Thanks to this coincidence, among all the planets revolving around the Sun, only Earth can observe its total eclipse.

Does the size of the moon change?

Of course, the true diameter of the satellite remains the same, but the apparent size may vary. So, The moon appears noticeably larger during sunrise and sunset. When the night star is low above the horizon, the distance to the observer does not decrease, but, on the contrary, increases slightly (by the radius of the Earth). The visual effect, it would seem, should be the opposite. There is no single answer explaining the cause of the illusion. We can only say with confidence that this beautiful phenomenon owes its existence only to the peculiarities of the functioning of the human brain, and not, for example, to the influence of the Earth’s atmosphere.

The distance between the Moon and the Earth periodically changes from maximum (at apogee) to minimum (at perigee). Along with the distance, the apparent diameter of the satellite also varies: from 29.43 to 33.5 arc minutes. Thanks to this, not only total eclipses are possible, but also annular (when the apparent size of the Moon at apogee is smaller than the solar disk). Approximately once every 414 days, the full moon coincides with the passage of perigee. At this time, you can observe the largest night star. The phenomenon has received the rather loud name of a supermoon, but the apparent diameter at this moment is only 14% larger than usual. The difference is very minor, and a casual observer will not notice the differences.

Thanks to precise measurements distances, scientists were able to detect a relatively slow but constant increase in the distance between the Earth and its satellite. The rate at which the Moon is receding - 3.8 cm per year - is too slow to notice a significant decrease in the apparent size of the star. Human nails grow at approximately the same rate. However, in 600 million years, the Moon will be so far away and, accordingly, smaller for observers on Earth that total solar eclipses will be a thing of the past.

It is worth noting, that the earth's satellite, formed according to modern theory from the collision of a planet with a large object 4.5 billion years ago, was initially 10-20 times closer. However, there was no one then to admire the sky, decorated with a star 10-20 times larger in diameter than now.

Video

You can understand how far the Moon is from the Earth by watching this video.

The moon has always attracted human attention. Probably each of us dreamed as a child of being an astronaut and visiting it. Since space tourism is actively gaining momentum in the world today, many are interested in the issue of time spent on the road from the Earth to the Moon.

The minimum distance from the Earth to the Moon is 354,988 kilometers. To overcome this path, a person will need:

9 years continuous walking at a speed of 5-6 kilometers per hour;
160-163 days, if you drive a car at a speed of 100-105 km/h;
20-21 days continuous flight on an airplane, covering 800-850 kilometers per hour;
To fly from Earth to the Moon on the Apollo spacecraft, you will need 72-74 hours;
If you move towards the Moon at the speed of light, which is 300,000 km/sec, then the entire road will take 1.25 light seconds.

If you take only special flying transport, then on the road to the Moon you will spend:

1 year 1.5 months, if you fly on a probe-type device ESA SMART-1. Its feature is an ion engine, which is considered the most economical of its kind. Despite the fact that this flight was the slowest, technologically it was the most advanced. The ESA SMART-1 lunar probe was launched on September 27th, 2003 and used a revolutionary ion engine to fly to the Moon. Although ESA SMART-1 reached the Moon after 410 days, it only consumed 82 kg of fuel during its journey. At the moment, this is the most economical way to travel.
5 days on Chinese satellite Chang'e-1. The flight of the device is carried out thanks to rocket engines. But he had to hang in low-Earth orbit until October 31, waiting for the correct departure point. It arrived on the Moon on November 5, using conventional rocket engines during its flight.
36-37 hours if you fly on a device like the Soviet satellite Luna-1. The satellite passed at a distance of only 500 km from the Moon, after which it entered a heliocentric orbit. It took the satellite only 36 hours to reach the Moon.
Almost 9 hours if you use development NASA "New Horizons" Pluto missions.

To date, the fastest flight to the Moon is NASA's New Horizons Pluto mission. From the very beginning, the satellite was committed to high acceleration - the speed of movement was about 58,000 km/h. This was done so that the satellite could overcome the gravity of the Sun in the solar system. However, despite such impressive speed, the satellite still took eight hours and thirty-five minutes to cover the 380,000-kilometer distance.

Thus, companies involved in space tourism have several options for sightseeing tours around the Moon. They can offer long cruises using ion engines, or short cruises using fast and powerful rockets to take people to the moon for a weekend.

Why were flights to the Moon and work on its exploration stopped?

Has anyone been to the Earth's satellite? And if so, why did countries stop going to the moon? As the Americans stated, the first expedition was sent in 1969, or more precisely, on July 20. Neil Armstrong led the team of astronauts. At that time, the Americans were simply jubilant. After all, they were the first to set foot on the surface of the Moon. But many doubted it.

Numerous photographs and recordings of conversations between expedition representatives and the Earth became the reason for the skeptics' disputes. However, at that time it was quite difficult to fake any photographs. Not to mention the equipment and laser reflectors that were left on the surface of the Moon for its further study. Some suggest that the equipment was delivered by an unmanned module. It is almost impossible to prove that someone has or has not visited the surface of the Earth's satellite. In addition, many documents still remain classified.

Political situation

This is the first reason why flights to the Moon were stopped. Do not forget that at that time there was a race between two large states for the opportunity to be the first to launch a rocket into space. The decisive event in this battle was the use of nuclear reactions. The possibilities that came with such a discovery were not only exciting, but also daunting. Moreover, there was no clear leader in this race. Both the USSR and America paid a lot of attention to space flights. The Soviet Union is the first state to send a man into space. If the USSR achieved such an opportunity, then why did the flights to the Moon fail? Why did they stop before they even started?

America was challenged. In turn, NASA has made a lot of efforts to make a retaliatory move. The sensational flights to the Moon are not just an achievement. This is an attempt to show your superiority over the whole world. Maybe this was the reason for closing the program. After all, other states did not have enough funds to go further than America in their developments. So is it worth the state spending its efforts and resources further?

Economy of countries

Of course, there is another reason why flights to the Moon were stopped - the economies of countries. States have allocated a lot of financial resources for the development of spacecraft, as well as for their launch. If the surface of the Earth's satellite could be divided, then its territories would become a tasty morsel for many wealthy people.

However, after some time, an agreement was created according to which absolutely all celestial bodies are the property of humanity. Any space exploration was to be carried out only for the benefit of all countries. It follows that allocating large amounts of financial resources to space exploration programs simply will not be beneficial. And the state that allocated the money simply will not be able to develop. As a result, there is simply no point in spending large amounts of money. After all, you can take advantage of the achievements of other countries.

Production area

Not so long ago, it was more expedient to re-equip any enterprise to meet the needs of the state. Now it is simply impossible to produce missiles with certain parameters simply because there is nowhere to do this. In any case, repurposing an enterprise is a rather complex process.

The problem in this case is not only the financial side of the issue. The reason lies in the lack of the required number of trained specialists. The generation that worked on the lunar program has long since retired. As for new employees, they are not so experienced yet. They do not have all the knowledge in this area. But flights to the Moon do not forgive mistakes. Their price, as a rule, is the lives of astronauts. It is for this reason that it is better not to fly to the Moon. And why they stopped is not difficult to guess.