423,000 – The distance the Moon travels whilst orbiting around Earth, in miles.
27 – The number of days it takes the Moon to orbit the Earth (precisely 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes and 11.6 seconds!).
Did You Know?
The Moon travels at different speeds during its orbit; the slowest speeds occur when it is at it’s furthest point from Earth, and moves at its fastest when at the closest point to Earth.
13 – The approximate period of unbroken time that any area of the Moon visible from Earth is in sunlight or darkness, in days (see the Moon Phases page to see this in action).
-153°C – The temperature of the surface of the Moon at night (some craters at the north and south poles never see sunlight and so are permanently this cold).
107°C – The temperature that the surface can reach during daylight hours (hot enough to boil water).
250°C – The approximate change in temperature – up or down – between periods of sunlight and darkness (no gradual change in temperature like we experience on Earth; on the Moon the change is almost instantaneous).
Did You Know?
The reason why the surface temperature can change so much is the lack of an atmosphere. Here on Earth our atmosphere acts to moderate temperatures by reflecting heat during the day and retaining heat during darkness.
226,000 – The nearest the Moon comes to Earth during orbit, in miles (Perigee).
252,000 – The farthest the Moon orbits away from Earth, in miles (Apogee).
238,774 – The average distance of the Moon from Earth, in miles (384,500 kilometres).