Today, at 9:48 p.m. Universal Time, the moon will be closer to Earth than it’s been in the last 15 years.
The moon will be less than 357,000 kilometers – or 222,000 miles – away. After today, the moon won’t come this close to Earth for another 8 years.
Today is also the full moon. And the next time the moon comes this close – on November 14, 2016 – it’ll be full again.
Extra close moons happen when the full moon coincides with the moon’s closest point to Earth for the month, an event called ‘perigee’ by astronomers. And in case you’re wondering, the moon’s phase does influence its closest distance for each month.
Consider that when a quarter moon happens at perigee – and is closest to Earth – the moon is at right angles to the Earth and sun – so that keeps the moon slightly farther away.
But when a full moon coincides with perigee, the sun, Earth and moon make a line in space. The moon’s orbit stretches closer to Earth. So the coincidence of perigee and full moon brings the moon closer to Earth than at any other phase. By the way, the sun’s varying distance also influences the moon’s distance. Because we’re closest to the sun around New Year’s Day, the closest full moon perigees always occur at the beginning or the end of the year.
…article taken from EarthSky
picture taken from the Salt Lake Tribune
picture taken from LUNAR NETWORKS
edited by sandra {16.12.08}
My clumsy moon shot
