How long does it take for moonlight to reach Earth?

Moonlight takes about 1.28 seconds to reach Earth.

Moonlight is mostly sunlight reflected from the lunar surface, not light generated by the Moon. Because the Moon is about 384,400 kilometers from Earth on average and light travels at roughly 299,792 kilometers per second, the journey takes approximately 1.28 seconds.

The exact time varies slightly because the Moon's orbit is elliptical. At perigee, when the Moon is closer, the delay is shorter; at apogee, when it is farther away, the delay is longer. Figures such as 1.26 seconds can appear when a particular Earth–Moon distance or surface-to-surface measurement is used, but 1.28 seconds is the standard average-distance answer.

Moonlight is also much dimmer than direct sunlight because the lunar surface reflects only a small fraction of the light it receives. The Moon's average Bond albedo is about 0.136, meaning it reflects roughly 13.6 percent of incoming sunlight. The light's travel time is still essentially the same whether the Moon is full, crescent or gibbous.