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Dear Yahoo!:
How much does the moon weigh?
Glenn
Baldwin Park, California
Dear Glenn:
Before we answer your question, a little explication on the difference between mass and weight is needed. Mass is a measure of how much inertia an object displays. A crow bar takes a little lifting to move -- it has a distinct mass. Weight is the force of gravitational attraction between two objects. This can vary from situation to situation. To measure the force of gravitational attraction between you and the Earth, step on a scale.

The mass of an object isn't dependent on gravity, so it's different from weight, but obviously proportional. Things with a large mass (18-ton weights, skyscrapers, glaciers) tend to weigh more than things with a smaller mass (thimbles, pebbles, field mice). When someone floats in outer space, they have mass, but no weight.

We can safely measure the mass of the moon, it's about (7.35 x 1022 kg), or about 1/81 of the Earth's mass. But the weight of the moon varies in different situations.

 
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