What is the difference between the Earth and the moon?
Quick Answer
One of the many differences between the Earth and the moon is simply that the Earth is a planet and the moon orbits the Earth as its satellite. The Earth's circumference is 24,873.6 miles, while that of the moon is 6783.5 miles.
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Full Answer
A day is much shorter on Earth than on the moon. The length of a day on the Earth is 24 hours, while the length of a day on the moon is equal to slightly over 27 Earth days. The Earth is significantly larger than the moon. Its surface area is equal to 196,936,994 square miles, while the surface area of the moon is 14,647,439.75 square miles. The moon has more extreme temperatures than does the Earth. The minimum temperature on the moon is -387 degrees Fahrenheit, but the minimum temperature on Earth is a somewhat warmer -126 degrees Fahrenheit. The maximum moon temperature is 253 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to the highest Earth temperature of 136 degrees Fahrenheit. Surface gravity is more than six times stronger on the Earth than on the moon. The moon has no atmosphere and practically no water, while the Earth has both. While the Earth has abundant life, the moon has no life. The Earth is in a constant state of change from both the life living on the planet and the Earth's atmosphere and water features. The moon does not change much at all, and any change comes from forces outside of the moon.
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