The Moon at closer distances
The Moon is the one object in Perigee already at a distance you have seen with your own eyes. That makes it the ruler for everything else: every other comparison on this site is measured in full Moons. Bringing it closer shows how quickly apparent size grows once a familiar object starts moving in.
- 3,474.8 km
- 655.72 hours
- moon
How big does the Moon actually look from Earth?
At 384,400 km, the Moon spans 0.5° across your sky — about 1.0 times the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 1.3 seconds.
This is the Moon exactly as it appears tonight, at the distance the sky actually puts it.
How big would the Moon look a quarter closer?
At 288,300 km, the Moon spans 0.7° across your sky — about 1.3 times the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 1.0 seconds.
A quarter of the way in, the disc is noticeably broader but still reads as the Moon.
How big would the Moon look at half its distance?
At 192,200 km, the Moon spans 1.0° across your sky — about 2.0 times the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 0.6 seconds.
Halving the distance doubles the apparent width. The familiar face no longer fits the space your eye expects.
How big would the Moon look at a quarter of its distance?
At 96,100 km, the Moon spans 2.1° across your sky — about 4.0 times the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 0.3 seconds.
This close, the Moon dominates the sky rather than sitting in it.
How big would the Moon look on a close pass?
At 48,050 km, the Moon spans 4.1° across your sky — about 8.0 times the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 0.2 seconds.
Surface relief that is normally a smudge resolves into terrain.
What Perigee calculates and what it renders
The apparent size on this page is calculated from the published diameter and the distance you choose, using the same geometry the live scene uses. The lighting and surface treatment are an authored visualization.
How Perigee calculates apparent size