distances

The average distance from Earth to Moon is 384,403 km (238,857 miles).
Before you put this answer into your homework you’ve got to understand that the Moon takes an elliptical path around the Earth. That number, 384,403 km is an average distance that astronomers call the semi-major axis. The Moon can get closer to the Earth and it can get further.
At its closest point, known as the perigee, the Moon is only 363,104 km (225,622 miles). And at its most distant point, called apogee, the Moon gets to a distance of 406,696 km (252,088 miles).
You can see that the distance from Earth to Moon can vary by 43,592 km. That’s a pretty big difference, and it can make the Moon appear dramatically different in size depending on where it is in its orbit. For example, take a look at this animation from the Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio which shows the geocentric phase, libration, position angle of the axis, and apparent diameter of the Moon throughout the year (this was created for 2011), at hourly intervals.

Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/38128/distance-from-earth-to-moon/#ixzz2MlP4Vb4v