Fonda Pride, age 9'1, of Huntsville, Alabama, for her question:

How big is the moon?

The moon is a round ball, which is not easy to measure. What's more, there are different ways to measure it and the answers seem to disagree. We can measure its circumference, which is a circle around its Traist. We would need a tape measure 6,790 miles long to reach around the moon's circumference. The distance around the waist of the world is about four times longer than this.

The moon's diameter is a line straight through the middle of the big ball. It is about 2,160 miles long, which is much shorter than its waistline. Another way is to measure the volume of the moon, which is how much space it takes up. Maybe this gives the best idea of its real size. And the best way to grasp it is to compare it with the size of the earth. Suppose, just suppose, our world were a thin shell with a great big hollow inside. It would have room to swallow 50 moon sized balls. In other words, the moon is 50 times smaller than our entire planet Earth.