Lunar perigee 2024: All you need to know

Here you will get all the moon perigee dates in 2024:

The moon at perigee

The moon at perigee
The moon at perigee, the closest point from the earth in its elliptical orbit. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The distance of the moon from the earth always changes because the moon orbits in an elliptical orbit around the earth.

The moon reaches perigee, meaning it reaches the closest point to the earth in its elliptical orbit. Here, perigee comes from two words: peri, meaning near, and geo, meaning earth.

The moon appears slightly larger than usual when it reaches perigee.

Now, these closest distances vary every time the moon reaches perigee. This is because the orbit of the moon wobbles due to the gravitational perturbations of the sun.

The full moon at perigee

A supermoon is about 7% larger than an average full moon
A supermoon is about 7% larger than an average full moon. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

If a full moon occurs near perigee then it’s called a supermoon. A supermoon is about 7% larger than a regular full moon and about 14% larger than a micromoon.

How often is the moon at perigee?

The moon reaches perigee once every anomalistic month or 27.555 days. The moon takes 27.555 days to complete one orbit around the Earth with respect to the perigee. This is called an anomalistic month

Now, the moon takes 27.322 days to complete one orbit around the Earth with respect to the background stars. This is called a sidereal month. So an anomalistic month is slightly longer than a sidereal month.

When is the moon closest to the earth in 2024?

The moon will be closest to the earth in 2024, on Sunday, March 10, at 07:06 UTC (or 3:06 a.m. EDT).

Distance of the moon: During the perigee, the distance of the moon from the earth will be 356,895 kilometers. The average distance of the moon from the earth is 384,400 kilometers.

Angular diameter: During the perigee, the angular diameter (disk size) of the moon will be 33.48 arcminutes. The average angular diameter of the moon is 31 arcminutes.

Moon phase: During the perigee, the moon will be in the new moon phase and 0% illuminated.

Lunar perigee dates in 2024 with distance

Here are all the dates of the lunar perigee in 2024, along with their distance according to NASA:

DateTime (UTC)Distance (km)Angular diameter (arcmin)
January 1310:3536226432.99
February 10 18:4935808833.37
March 1007:0635689533.48
April 0717:5335885033.30
May 0522:1136316632.91
June 0207:2336810832.46
June 2711:4536929232.36
July 2405:4336491432.75
August 2105:0536019933.18
September 1813:2635728433.45
October 1700:4635717333.46
November 1411:1836011033.18
December 1213:1836536032.71
Related article: All you need to know about Lunar apogee 2024 

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About the Author

Ashim

Ashim Chandra Sarkar founded Space & Telescope in 2022. He holds a M.Sc. in physics and has five years of research experience in optical astronomy. His passion for astronomy inspired him to open this website. He is responsible for the editorial vision of spaceandtelescope.com.

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