0
How do scientists know the distance from the Earth to the moon?
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
Electronics. A radar sends out a "pulse" - that is, a powerful, single shot of electro-magnetic energy. That pulse bounces off the moon and comes back to the receiver. An electronic beam ravels at a specific rate. The time between the gun firing its shot and receiving the echoed bounce-back is a simple math problem. When you know the time, then again its a simple math problem to covert that time to distance. {BTW... The same principle is used for police radar units!}
Wiki User
∙ 16y ago
Wiki User
∙ 15y agoToday they do it by bouncing a laser beam off a reflector on the moon and measuring how long the light takes to make the round trip to the moon and back. The reflector was put there for this purpose during one of the Apollo lunar landing missions. This method allows them to measure the distance within a few inches.
Years ago they did it by measuring the angle of the moon in the sky at the same time from two different locations on earth. Applying trigonometry to the angles and the distance between the two measurement locations, they calculated the distance to the moon.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoBy "shooting" a laser at a reflector placed on the moon and measuring the time it takes the light to return back to Earth.
By having two people measure where the moon is in the sky at the same time, miles apart from each other (the further the better), with the distance between them known, then calculating it based upon the angles measured, the (arc) distance between the two people, and the radius of the earth. There are some good examples on the internet if you do a Google search (something like "measuring the distance to the moon").
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
How did they know the distance the moon was from earth 1 billion years ago?
One billion years ago there were no humans on earth, so 'they' didn't know the distance from the moon to the earth.
How do scientists know how old the moon is?
The nMoon was once a part of the Earth, so it is the same age as the earth.
How far is the earths moon from mercury?
Varying from the the distance from the Earth to the Moon + the distance from the sun to the earth + the distance from mercury to the sun, to the distance from the earth to the sun - the distance from mercury to the sun - the distance from the earth to the moon
How do scientists know when the next eclipse will occur?
by knowing the placement of the sun ,earth and the moon
Whats the distance from earth to the moon?
The distance from the moon to the Earth is 238,900 miles.
What do scientists use to accurately measure the distance between the earth and the moon?
a stick.
How did they know the distance the moon was from earth 1 billion years ago?
One billion years ago there were no humans on earth, so 'they' didn't know the distance from the moon to the earth.
How do scientists know how old the moon is?
The nMoon was once a part of the Earth, so it is the same age as the earth.
How far is the earths moon from mercury?
Varying from the the distance from the Earth to the Moon + the distance from the sun to the earth + the distance from mercury to the sun, to the distance from the earth to the sun - the distance from mercury to the sun - the distance from the earth to the moon
What distance is from the Earth to the Moon?
The distance from earth to the moon is 250,000 miles.
What is the distance the moon is from earth?
Moon/Distance to Earth 238,900 mi
How do scientists know when the next eclipse will occur?
by knowing the placement of the sun ,earth and the moon
Whats the distance from earth to the moon?
The distance from the moon to the Earth is 238,900 miles.
What is the distance between earth and heaven?
The same as between the Moon and the Earth. The distance from the clouds to the surface of the Earth is insignificant, compared to the Moon-Earth distance.The same as between the Moon and the Earth. The distance from the clouds to the surface of the Earth is insignificant, compared to the Moon-Earth distance.The same as between the Moon and the Earth. The distance from the clouds to the surface of the Earth is insignificant, compared to the Moon-Earth distance.The same as between the Moon and the Earth. The distance from the clouds to the surface of the Earth is insignificant, compared to the Moon-Earth distance.
What is the distance from the moon to the earth in meters?
The distance between the moon and the earth is 384,403,000 meters.The distance from earth to the moon is -Apogee - 405,696,000 metresPerigee - 363,104,000 metres
The distance from the earth to the moon?
The distance from the moon to earth is 238,857 miles.
How far away is the sun in miles?
It varies - the moon orbits the Earth so the distance will change depending on Earth's distance from the sun as well as the moon's distance from the Earth. The minimum distance from the moon to the sun is when the Earth is closest to the sun and the moon is in new moon phase (meaning its closer to the sun than the Earth). The distance from the moon to the sun is: Earth's distance at perihelion - moon's distance from Earth at apogee. This works out to 146,692,370 km. The maximum distance from the moon to the sun is when the Earth is farthest from the sun and the moon is in full moon phase. The distance from the moon to the sun is Earth's distance at aphelion + moon's distance from Earth at apogee. This works out to 150,503,400 km.
