How Big Is the Moon?

The moon seems so large because of its proximity to earth.

When we look up to the moon, we often think it is bigger than it really is. After all, all of the stars in the sky seem to be a similar size and then there is the moon which looks like it is 500 times bigger than any given star.

However, in reality, the moon is four times smaller than earth. The moon, is only about 240,000 miles away from earth - which is why it seems so big. Stars, on the other hands, are literally light years away from earth - which is why they seem so small in the sky. Stars are however, much bigger than the moon.

So, while the moon seems like it is extremely large - it is not. In fact the Sun is much bigger than the moon - but it is also much further away from the earth which is why it doesn't seem much larger.