The distance between the Moon and Earth varies slightly, but on average, it is about 384,400 kilometers (238,900 miles). When sunlight reflects off the Moon, it travels this distance to reach us on Earth. To calculate the time it takes for light to travel from the Moon to Earth, we can use the speed of light as a constant.
The speed of light in a vacuum is approximately 299,792 kilometers per second (186,282 miles per second). To determine the time it takes for light to travel from the Moon to Earth, we divide the distance by the speed of light:
Time = Distance / Speed of Light
Time = 384,400 km / 299,792 km/s
Calculating this, we find that it takes approximately 1.28 seconds for sunlight reflected off the Moon to reach us on Earth. Therefore, there is a delay of about 1.28 seconds between the moment the sunlight reflects off the Moon and when we observe it here on Earth.