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Ella Fitzgerald would like to know. More simply, anyone outside at night might wonder how far away the moon is. Today you can look it up, but that just gives you a big number that doesn't tell you much by itself. What's more interesting is proportional sizes: you've seen pictures of the solar system, and you're probably aware they aren't to scale. Is the moon bigger or smaller than the earth? What would the picture look like if the distances were to scale?
What's more interesting than that is how you can find out from nature, not from a reference book (or Web page). On the next few pages, you'll figure out "how high the moon" using just your Browser and some duct tape. The approach is not original...it was used by the ancient Greek scientists and relies on a phenomenon that's fascinating in its own right: an eclipse of the moon.
Next: What Causes An Eclipse?