supermoon

Perigee and Apogee

The Moon's orbit around the Earth is not a perfect circle, but elliptical, with one side closer to the Earth than the other.

The point on the Moon's orbit closest to the Earth, is called the perigee and the point farthest away is theapogee.

238,000 Miles on Average

This means that the distance between the Moon and Earth varies throughout the month and the year. On average the distance is about 238,000 miles or 382,900 kilometers.

Super Full Moon and Super New Moon

According to NASA, a Super Full Moon looks around 12 to 14% bigger than a Micromoon.

When a full Moon coincides with being closest to Earth, it is called a Super Full Moon. A new Moon that takes places when the Moon is at its perigee is known as a Super New Moon.

A Micromoon, on the other hand, is when a full or a new Moon is farthest from the Earth (apogee). It's also sometimes known as a Minimoon, Mini Full Moon or a Mini New Moon.-read more