How Big Is the Moon?
How big is the moon?
This one is an easy approximation to remember.
It’s about 1/4 the size of Earth.
Specifically, it’s 27% in diameter.
What’s the size of the moon?
You can think of the moon being about as wide as the United States. From the west to east coast, it can fit on the moon.
If you measure the moon’s surface area, it could fit all of Europe, China, United States, Brazil and South Africa all together.
It’s the fifth largest moon in all the solar system.
And it’s bigger than the dwarf planet Pluto.
READ MORE: How Far Is the Moon?
How does the moon compare to other planets in size?
This table compares the size of the moon in relation to the other planets in our solar system.
First, we compare the difference between radius.
Next, we measure the relation between the size of Earth compared to the moon.
| Planet | Radius (km) | Size compared to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 2,440 km | 0.38 of Earth |
| Venus | 6,052 km | 0.95 of Earth |
| Earth | 6,371 km | 1.00 of Earth |
| The Moon | 1,737 km | 0.27 of Earth |
| Mars | 3,390 km | 0.53 Earths |
| Saturn | 58,232 km | 9.45 Earths |
| Jupiter | 69,911 km | 11.21 Earths |
| Uranus | 25,362 km | 4.01 Earths |
| Neptune | 24,622 km | 3.88 Earths |
Size Comparison: The Moon vs Earth vs Mars
In terms of size, the Moon is close to 25% of Earth. On the other hand, Mars is near half (53%) the size of Earth.
The gravity of the moon is 1/6 of Earth which is too weak to hold onto an atmosphere.
If Earth were hollow, you could fit almost 50 moons inside the Earth. If you compare Earth to Mars, it would take 6 Mars to fill in Earth.
