Have you heard that Australia is wider than the Moon? Perhaps you want to check in on that, or maybe you’re just curious, given the size of this sovereign country. Besides, it is a continent, after all. Either way, you’ve come to the right place because today, I am going to be walking you through the differences in size between them.

So, is Australia wider than the Moon? Australia is wider than the Moon, with a width of around 4000 kilometers, from east to west. In contrast, the Moon is estimated to be 3,474.8 kilometers wide (given in diameter as the Moon is spherical).

It’s a crazy thought, right?

But it naturally leads us to the next question, which I am sure you want to find out…

Table of Contents

Is Australia Bigger Than The Moon?

Australia is not bigger than the Moon. While it is theoretically wider, the surface area of the Moon is just under 5x the size when extrapolated.

The land mass of Australia is calculated to be 7,617,930 sq. km.

Whereas the land mass of the Moon is 37,940,000 sq km.

Now we have to consider that Australia is flat, whereas the Moon is spherical. So, to get a true understanding of the size of the Moon, we essentially need to convert it to a comparable measurement.

That’s where land mass comes in.

And we can soon see that when doing so, the Moon is actually just shy of 5x bigger!

How Big Is Australia?

Australia is the sixth largest country, yet the smallest of seven continents on Earth.

Here are the important numbers for Australia in regard to its size:

Total Area (Km²): 7,692,024
Total Area (Mi²): 2,969,906
Land Area (Km²): 7,682,300
Land Area (Mi²): 2,966,151
% of World Land Mass: 5.2%

How Big Is The Moon?

The Moon is just over a quarter of the size of Earth and less than a third of the total width of Earth.

Here are the important numbers for the Moon in regard to its size:

Radius: 1,740 km.
Mean Diameter/Width: (3,475 km
Equatorial Circumference: 10,917 km
Distance From Earth: 384,400 kilometers

“If Earth were the size of a nickel, the moon would be about as big as a coffee bean.”
Nasa

Other Countries Wider Than The Moon

The other countries that are wider than the Moon are:

Russia – ~9000 kilometers
Canada – 5514 kilometers
China – 5250 kilometers
United States – ~4500 kilometers
Brazil – 4319 kilometers

Are Any Of The Earths Continents Bigger Than The Moon?

The only continent that is bigger than the Moon is Asia, with a land mass surface area of 44.58 million km².

Of course, we need to remember that the moon’s land mass surface area is 37,94 million km².

Comparing other continents, we see that the Moon is bigger than the rest, some of which by quite a way:

Europe – 10.53 million km²
Antarctica – 13.66 million km²
North America – 24.71 million km²
South America – 17.84 million km²
Africa – 30.37 million km²
Oceana – 8.56 million km²

Other guides you may be interested in:

Sources

Width of Australia – https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/dimensions/continental-extremities
Width of the Moon – https://www.space.com/18135-how-big-is-the-moon.html
Other data: https://www.worldometers.info/geography/largest-countries-in-the-world/
Moon Dimensions: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/earths-moon/in-depth/

Jeremy Williams

Hey, my name is Jeremy. I’m a passionate and seasoned astronomer who loves nothing more than observing the night sky. I also love researching, learning, and writing all things Space and the Universe. I created Astronomy Scope to share my knowledge, experience, suggestions, and recommendations of what I have learned along the way while helping anyone to get into and maximize their enjoyment of the hobby.