When you look at the moon and have the terrestrial perspective, you interpret that this is a giant satellite, although more than the Earth? Well, the answer is no, and although we think the opposite when solar eclipses like the one on June 10 occur, we have to say that the moon is smaller than the earth, but to what extent?
Is the Moon smaller than the Earth?
The Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth and it is the first one to be found when moving from the Sun to the outside: Mercury and Venus , the two planets located closer to the Sun than the Earth, do not have natural satellites.
Its dimensions are quite small with respect to Earth , despite the fact that it is the largest satellite precisely in relation to its planet. In any case, it does not exceed the Earth since it is about 3,475 kilometers in diameter, which is equivalent to a quarter the size of the Earth and 80 times less its mass.
We can say then that the mass and size of the Moon are quite small compared to the Earth (which has a diameter of 12,756 kilometers, a maximum circumference of 40,000 kilometers and a total area close to 510,000,000 kilometers), but also It is smaller when compared to those of the other celestial bodies in the Universe . However, it is quite large compared to the other satellites in the Solar System.
Only three of Jupiter’s moons, one of Saturn and possibly one of Neptune’s two moons, have a mass greater than that of the Moon.
On the other hand, the Moon differs from the rest of the satellites in the Solar System due to the relationship between the mass of these satellites and that of the planet around which they orbit. In this sense, we recall that the mass of the Moon represents the 81st part of the Earth’s mass : this ratio is considerably higher than the ratio of other satellites to the planet around which they orbit. For this reason, the Moon is considered a minor planet.
The smaller mass and smaller dimensions of the Moon compared to Earth mean that on the lunar surface the acceleration of gravity is about 1/6 compared to Earth’s.
Moon density
The relationship between the mass of the Moon and its volume represents the density of the satellite.
It is approximately equal to 3.3 grams per cm 3 : it is a density slightly higher than that of the rocks of the earth’s crust, but in general, less than the density of the entire Earth which is approximately 5.5 grams per cm 3.
The density of the Moon could support the hypothesis that it was formed after the detachment of a part of the outermost material of our planet , when it had just formed. This detachment would have been caused by the strong rotation speed of the Earth and the attractive force of the Sun. The higher density of the Earth, as a whole, compared to that of the Moon, is due to the fact that our planet has retained the densest part of the primitive celestial body.
