To find the distance between -23 and 9 on a number line, you can use the formula for distance, which is the absolute value of the difference between the two numbers:
\[ \text{Distance} = |x_2 - x_1| \]
In this case, let \(x_1 = -23\) and \(x_2 = 9\).
Calculating the difference:
\[ 9 - (-23) = 9 + 23 = 32 \]
Taking the absolute value, the distance is:
\[ |32| = 32 \]
Therefore, the answer is:
32