How come the Moon seems to
follow you when you move?

	Art by Tim Foley.

The Moon seems to follow you because it’s so far away. That idea may sound wrong. After all, how could something far away seem to follow along? To understand, start with objects that are much closer.

When you are riding in a car, close things seem to move by rapidly as you pass them. A tree or house by the road starts out ahead of you. It comes up fast, and in a few moments, it’s far behind you.

Objects that are far away do not seem to move very fast. If you can see a faraway building or a mountain from a moving car, notice how long it takes for that object to pass by. Out West, you can sometimes ride toward mountains that never seem to get any closer.

The Moon is more than 200,000 miles away. It is so far away that the motion of your car doesn’t change its position enough for you to notice. So the Moon just seems to follow you wherever you go.